| 2. Natività di Maria |
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ArchiteCturE  The written chronicles report that in 1659 the construction of the edifice, supported by the community of the ‘mandamento di Bioglio’, had already begun. The ground plan is rectangular, with two small apses on the long sides. Internally the organization of the space reflects the same design, interrupted by four columns with Corinthian capitals supporting the vaults, whose effect is to confer grace and elegance to the edifice. The lower part presents a slightly abutting porch, sustained by stone columns and surmounted by a pediment and a trabeation. The lesenes, window and door cornices are also in stone. The upper part, completed in the 19th century, presents brickwork decorations and stone capitals. The lesenes are in line with the porch columns, enhancing the harmony and grace of the façade. The prospect ends with a large pediment embellished by an imposing cornice continuing, slenderer and sustained by corbels, on the sides and to the rear of the edifice. INTERNAL SCENE  The statues were realized by various artists. As the firsts, by F. Sala di Como and C.A. Serra di Tollegno, were already in unsuitable conditions in 1702, the authorities commissioned new ones. The current disposition is therefore subsequent, being designed by P.G. Auregio, who started to work on the new sculptures and the triumph of the angels in 1711. The painted architectural perspectives, realized by G. Galliari, were altered, together with the statues, by the restoration works of 1970. The scene, which includes three distinctive sculptural groups, depicts an episode of childbirth within domestic walls. St. Anne is portrayed at one end, bedridden and assisted by two women. The midwife, in the centre, surrounded by two large angels and another woman, is showing the baby, Mary, wrapped in swaddling clothes to her father, St. Joachim. Elements like the crib with the two cherubs, the bath, and the few women drying their cloths around the fire, enhance the domestic realism of the sculptural group. The majestic triumph of the angels, composed by over a hundred statues, dominates the scene.OTHER PHOTOS Click on the image to see larger details.            
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