San Secondo, Magnano
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The church of San Secondo di Magnano is built in a wide open space near the Serra d' Ivrea, not far from the Bose monastic community, in the comune (''municipality'') of Magnano, Italy. It is one of the most interesting examples of the Romanesque architecture in the Provincia di Biella and the
Canavese Canavese ( French: ''Canavais''; Piedmontese: ''Canavèis'') is a subalpine geographical and historical area of North-West Italy which lies today within the Metropolitan City of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its ca ...
.


History and architecture

There used to be an older, small church on the site of today's San Secondo. This church was probably built by the Benedictines. In the first half of the 11th century the structure was raised and enlarged up to its current size. The architecture is typically Romanesque, with a projecting façade. The interior consists of a nave flanked by two aisles. The central nave and the left aisle end both with an apse with a small window. The right aisle's apse has probably been demolished to make room for the bell tower, an elegant structure with mullioned windows in its upper section. The inside of the church is divided into a nave and two aisles by rectangular pillars with rounded
arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
; the ceiling is a truss. At the bottom of the right aisle, on the bell towers wall, there is a
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
from the 13th ir 14th century, representing a ''Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John''. The church was originally built in the ancient hamlet of Magnano, but at the end of the 14th century the village moved to Magnano's current location. At the beginning of the 17th century the parish church was moved to the new church of ''Santa Marta'' and there was no reason to preserve the old Romanesque building, so it was decided, in 1606, to demolish San Secondo in order to use its materials to build the new church. The devotee, however, took position against this decision and succeeded in maintaining the church. Baroque decorations were added. During the 19th century the church was abandoned again. Only in 1968 did the Province of Vercelli decide to restore the building and to restore its original Romanesque look.


Gallery

File:Magnano San Secondo 01.JPG, Belltower and right side File:Magnano San Secondo 02.jpg, Belltower and apse File:Magnano San Secondo 06.jpg, The apse


Bibliography

* Comunità monastica di Bose (a cura della) ''La Serra: Chiese Romaniche'', edizioni Qiqajon, 1999


See also

* CoEur - In the heart of European paths * Via Francigena * Path of Saint Charles


References

{{coord, 45.4662, N, 8.0114, E, source:wikidata, display=title Churches in the province of Biella 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Magnano