Church of Santa Maria in Betlem

Founded in the twelfth century and standing on the Via Francigena, the church’s name recalls its vocation of welcoming those travelling to the Holy Land.

The bi-coloured terracotta and sandstone Romanesque façade (twelfth century) is decorated with an elegant weave of small arches and the portal is imaginatively decorated with animal figures from the medieval bestiary and grapevines. The stars carved into the main door recall the Madonna della Stella, whose statue stands inside the church, and the legend of her appearance and the miracle she performed to the benefit of a sailor on a cargo boat sailing up the river Po towards Pavia.