[Mar. 2025] After having lunch in the historic town of Castiglione Olona in Northern Italy, we visited the Collegiata Church, the highlight of the town.
To be honest, we were completely satisfied with the lunch, but my husband and I talked, “If we go home after this, we came just to eat,” so we paid €16 for two people and entered the church.
This includes the permission of taking photos.
Although it is called a church, it is now a museum.
We had planned to just look at it on our own, but since the tour was just about to start, we decided to listen to the guide’s detailed explanation.
The real name of this church is Chiesa dei Santi Stefano e Lorenzo.
It was built in the early 15th century.
We started by learning that everything was made from local materials, and the highlight was the frescoes inside the church.
It is a work by Masolino da Panicale, and it is said that his signature and self-portrait are painted here and there.
The guide said that this is to avoid confusion with the famous painter Masaccio, who was active at the same time.
Perhaps because the colours have faded, the painting is in pale pastel colours, and the people are expressionless and cool.
I especially liked the women’s paintings.
According to the explanation, women are symbolically represented by thin columns.
Although they are thin, they are meant to firmly support the building.
When the priest’s coffin under the painting panels was opened in the 1990s, a body was found in everyday clothes, not priest’s clothes.
Apparently, he wanted to appear humble as he went to God.
There is an interesting chandelier that is said to be made in Hungary, and when it was sent for repairs, the repairman made a fake and returned it.
Our guide was a fairly elderly woman, and she was the type of person who looked like a schoolteacher.
She would occasionally offer her personal opinion, saying, “I might get scolded by the director, though.”
After the church, we went into the baptistery.
There is also frescos here, and it is famous for the painting of Christ being baptized in the river.
It is a river in Palestine, but the surrounding mountains are typical of the scenery around here, so it made people feel closer to it.
We also went to a museum with religious exhibits.
The ceiling was beautiful.
A few weeks after we went, it was the 600th anniversary of the dedication, and we were told that some parts that are not usually open to the public would be shown.
In the end, we spent quite a long time learning about this church.
Listening to the guide’s explanations really makes sightseeing more enjoyable, isn’t it.
