Church of Our Lady of Sorrows

The church was erected between 1750 and 1754 based on a design by master builder Giacomo Cometti and his son Giovan Battista, both originally from Canton Ticino, two architects who were particularly highly regarded and very active in Valtellina at that time: Giacomo Cometti also directed the construction sites of the collegiate church in Sondrio.

The small building has behind it the square of Santa Maria Maddalena and the old village center preserved almost intact.

The 'interior of the church is small with only one altar covered by a valuable silk altar frontal embroidered with the effigy ofOur Lady of Sorrows (18th cent.). On the back wall rises a rich carved, painted and gilded wooden frame with seven reliefs depicting Episodes from the life of Christ and the Virgin (18th cent.).

A particularly significant work is the altarpiece, Our Lady of Sorrows with her heart pierced by seven swords and, kneeling at her feet, St. Francis of Paola, Mary Magdalene and St. Vincent Ferreri, the work of Vittoria Lig ari, a painter and daughter of the better-known Pietro Ligari, signed and dated 1756.

The history of the making of this altarpiece is somewhat tortuous. The commission was initially made by the parish priest of Lanzada Pier Angelo Mottalini to the painter Cesare Ligari, son of Pietro who was a nephew of Don Mottalini himself. In fact, the commission, after a long and arduous negotiation that was unsuccessful for economic reasons, was finally given to Cesare's sister Vittoria, also a painter, who produced the work for a lower price. Although the payment was later paid to her brother Caesar, as was the custom at that time when women had no personal autonomy, let alone economic autonomy. The work underwent a recent restoration (2008).

The church also preserves other valuable paintings on canvas, wooden furniture and sacred furnishings almost all of which date from the 18th century.

Source: Valmalenco Ecomuseum