2018 –1E

Text and photos Ruud and Ina Metselaar www.comomeerinfo.nl

Sorico Part 1 - A walking tour in the village We start the tour at the boundary with at Via Regina (see map). After a few steps we see at the left-hand side the remains of villa Giulini. The villa was built in the 18th century, but was damaged seriously by a flood and has never been repaired. Villa Giulini At the start of the 18th century the abbot Giulini built a beautiful villa with splendid gardens in . The gardens covered seven terraces, stepwise sloping up, with large, double ponds with several kinds of fish, in particular trout. According to contemporaries it was marvellous to see water from different brooks come down with high speed to the point where they united. The same forces of water, however, strengthened by abundant rains, turned against the owner in the year 1750 breaking through the terrace walls, flooding the house and gardens, ruining everything. Stones, ponds and sand were swept away by the water. Although somewhat restored later on, the gardens never returned to their former beauty. The family, shocked by the unexpected events, gave up the villa and moved to Gravedona. The remains of the villa show large cracks in the walls and nothing is done to preserve it. It should be remarked that living in the villa was in fact only reasonably possible during winter time because the swamps of the rivers and made the surrounding a very unhealthy place

Villa Giulini Villa Rotonda Next, a few hundred metres further on at the right-hand side, bordering the supermarket, there is an octagonal tower that, in spite of its shape is known as villa Rotonda. Originally a church, it is now used as a private house. 1

Villa Rotonda For many years the building looked like a tower that was used as a hay barn, but after a thorough restauration it has now been transformed into a residential building. The site is of historical interest. In 1193 Litolfo di Soave left money to build a so-called ‘xenodochio’ in Sorico i.e. a resting place for pilgrims on their heavy route from the northern countries to holy places in Italy. Sorico was situated along the Via Regina, the main road to the Spluga pass, the connection between the regions north and south of the Alps. At the side of the hospice a church was built, dedicated to saint Bartolomeo. Some documents show that around 1700 little was left of the hospice. In 1699 bishop Bonesana writes: “There is a chapel too, where first the hospital of S. Bartolomeo was and now the Madonna del Fiume (the Madonna of the river) because it is next to a river. Several years ago the construction of a church was started, but after the death of the donors, due to lack of money, this was never finished”. In 1712 bishop Olgiati writes; “The church of the Beate Vergine Immacolata, named Del Fiume, at first the church of a hospital named after Saint Bartolomeo, is now destroyed, but was restored and decorated by Faustino Giulini”. On a map of 1722 one sees that the river, that now flows to the lake near the church of S. Stefano, at that time crossed the village at the place of the present supermarket. The church mentioned in the two papers is Villa Rotonda. It was built in two stages: the first started at the end of 1600, but ended because of a lack of money, the second started in the beginning of 1700, financed by Faustino Giulini. At his death in 1719 he left enough money to finish the construction as is shown on the 1722 map.

The Giulini family Above we mentioned the name Giulini as owners of the villa at the opposite side of the street. The Giulinis were an important family originating in the village of Giulini, near Mezzagra, around 1250. At the end of 1500 Giovanni Antonio Giulini moved from Gera to Sorico, where the family has its own tomb in the church of S. Stefano. His son Giorgio moved in 1636 after the plundering by the French troops from Sorico to , but stayed regularly in Sorico. His sons Giuseppe and Faustino moved to after the death of their father. The first became a well- known lawyer, the other lector in anatomy and surgery at the University of Pavia. Giuseppe had four sons, two of them, Giorgio and Faustino, who became very rich. This Giorgio (1661-1727), began the construction of Villa Giulini. His son, abbot Giovanni (1692-1760) finished the work. When the abbot became sickly in 1742 and feared the malaria in Sorico, he moved to Gravedona, using the villa only for special occasions. In 1750 the villa was destroyed by the flood. That the climate of Sorico at the lake was unhealthy is also evident from the fact that only 8 families lived there. The majority of the about 600 inhabitants of Sorico lived in the mountain villages, Albonico with 25% of the inhabitants being the most important nucleus. Faustino (1667-1719) left money for the building of the church Madonna del Fiume, intended as a chapel for the village. Giorgio left money not only for the villa but also to restore the church of S. Stefano in the year 1703. Because of this gift the two brothers received in 1704 from pope Clemens XI the ‘gius patronato’, that is the privilege to nominate the archpriest, a privilege the family retained until 1812, when it moved to the bishop of Como. When Faustino died in 1719 he was buried in Pavia, but according to his will his embalmed heart was transferred to Sorico, to the church of the Beate Vergine. Only in recent years the box with his heart was found by chance under the altar of the Virgin in the S. Stefano. In the Napoleonic time the church was sold, and changed into a residential house. After a fire in 1898 it served for some time as a hay barn before it was reconstructed to its present form as residential house.

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Continuing the road we arrive at the village square, the piazza Batttisti. Here we find the post office, a pharmacy and the town hall. There is little left to remind us of the stirring past of the village that sometimes was part of the region of Como and sometimes was occupied by Como’s enemy, the Grigioni (people from the Swiss region Graubünden). In 1515 the village was first plundered and ransacked by the French troops, next by the Grigioni and finally by the Spanish soldiers. On the left there is the parish church of S. Stefano, built in 1447 at the site where, according to old documents, there was a Roman temple. Until 1444 the baptistery was in Olonio, in the present Pian di Spagna, but regular floods of the river Adda forced the inhabitants to leave the plain. With financial aid of the duke of Milan, Philips Maria Visconti, a new baptistery was built next to the imposing bell tower. Already in the year 1000 Sorico had joined an alliance named the Tre Pievi (Three Parishes) between Dongo and Gravedona (also covering ), but only from 1444 on it was a parish on its own. At the end of the 17th century the church needed a thorough restauration and a great donation by Giorgio Giuliani made this possible in 1703. At the top of the hill S. Giorgio, behind the church, there was once a fortification. One can reach this place by taking the via Roma (the street left at the entrance of the square), but there are only a few remains of walls to be seen. The church of S. Stefano Originally founded in Roman times, as is evident from the high bell tower, it received the title of parish church in 1444 when the region of Olonio became inhabitable because of the regular floods. The present form dates from the 18th century, although some of the older parts are still visible, as for instance the porch in white marble and the rose window. Entering the church one immediately notes the 16th century tryptich on the main altar. It shows the Madonna with child flanked by S. Stefano and S. Vincenzo. Hidden behind the main altar at the back wall there is a fresco of the Crucifixion made by Giorgio Scotti in 1473. The upper part however, was removed when a window was made at this place. On the right hand side of the presbytery there is a painting of S. Orsola, from the 17th century. On the left hand side a painting of S. Gregory the Great liberating souls from purgatory, from the same century. To the right of the presbytery there is the chapel of the Rosary with fragments of frescoes from the original church, which were hidden behind the stucco. The right wall of the chapel shows a fresco of the beginning of the 15th century with the saints Nicolas from Tolentino and Caterina from Alessandria. The first chapel at the right, the baptistery, has a fresco of the Baptism of Christ, made by Tagliaferri in the 19th century. The second chapel at the right contains a polychromic wooden statue of S. Rocco (16th century) with his pilgrim’s staff and dog.

Left: Bell tower of the church of S. Stefano Right: La Torre

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La Torre and above the church of Saint Miro

From the square we follow the state road and take the path on the left-hand side, after the bridge, following the sign S. Miro. A short, steep climb brings us to ’La Torre’ (the tower) from the 15th century, which was part of the defence system of fort Fuentes in the Pian di Spagna. It dates from the time of the Visconti rulers and it was built at the site where earlier there was the castle of Sorico. This tower marks the beginning of the Via Antica Regina, the original road along the lake from Sorico to Como. We’ll find parts of this road in many villages at the lake. Each floor of the tower has one to three embrasures. The original entrance is at the first floor at the south side. The entrance, made from the soft stone ‘pietra ollare’, dating from 1598, was transferred in 1969 to the palazzo Crollanza in Mese di Chiavenna. The tower is now used as a private house. Following the path along the tower we reach the church of S. Miro, with a history going back to the 12th century church of S. Michael. When the body of the saint Miro was found in the chapel in 1452, the church was enlarged and baptized as S. Miro. It is richly decorated and has 15th century frescoes of the painter De Magistris and an altar statue by Il Fiamenghino. From the church one has a beautiful view over the Pian di Spagna, the river Mera and the lake. Saint Miro The life of the saint Miro is of special interest for the lake region. He was born in 1336 in in Valassina and after a life as a pilgrim returned to this region, where he died in Sorico in 1381. His birth was already surprising since both his parents were in their sixties and for that reason he was baptized Miro. His mother died when he was only two years old and his father raised him until he was seven and then trusted him to a hermit who lived in the mountains of Canzo. He stayed here for 25 years and living in poverty. After it he got a vision pushing him to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome. On his way to Rome he visited the hermit Brigido della Colonna in Urbe, a man famous for his holiness and severe life. Brigido invited him to stay, but one day an angel visited him, telling him that Miro should return to the region where he was born. Before his leave Miro received the blessings of Pope Gregory XI, who had just returned from Avignon (1337). As a remembrance the church of Cosmo e Damianus in Rome still has a medallion with the picture of Miro. From that moment on he wore the typical rough clothing with habit, hood and braid, with which he is pictured mostly. Close to the lake region he stopped in San Giorgio in Lomellina at a farmer’s house. This region was stricken by drought. Miro invited everyone to pray with him for rain and during the prayer the rains started to fall and continued for five days. Thereafter he went back to Canzo, where he stayed with a priest for one night and then found a cave in the mountains. The only food he took were carrots and fruits from the mountain slope and in winter time he lived on alms brought to him by the villagers. In the meantime, he performed charitable works. In Canzo he received a message from the Virgin urging him to travel to the borders of . Before he left he asked the inhabitants of Canzo if they had a wish. No one answered until a child cried: “water, water, water”. “And water there shall be” answered Miro. He then left for Onno, where he intended to cross the lake to Mandello. However, the ferryman,

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who just wanted to leave with some passengers, refused to take him, probably because he feared not to be paid. Miro took off his coat, spread it on the water and using it as a raft he reached the opposite side. Assisted by the wind he even arrived before the ferry. From here he travelled to Sorico where he became seriously ill because of malnutrition. Therefore, he found a cave at the foot of the hill with the church of Saint Michael Archangel. Here he spent his last years, loved by the inhabitants of Sorico and surroundings and here he died at the age of 45. His body was buried in the church of S. Michael. However, the inhabitants of Prato in wanted his body because his mother was born there. During the night they tried to steal the body, but they did not succeed because the tomb was too heavy to lift. They accepted this as a sign that he should be left at this place. Until the beginning of the 18th century each year the inhabitants of Prato carried a candle to his grave. In 1633 he was declared a saint and he is still known as the ‘saint of the rains’.

Frescoes painted by Sigismundo di Magistris in the church of S. Miro The church of S. Miro** To reach the sanctuary we take the path upwards along the tower. Halfway we pass the cave on the left, where the saint died and somewhat higher there is a Renaissance chapel, built in 1598, with a water well. The 19th century frescoes, painted by Tagliaferri, are hardly visible anymore. Finally, after climbing 145 steps, we reach the church where we can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view over the surroundings. Below, just in front, the river Mera, behind it the nature reserve Pian di Spagna with the two hills of Montecchio. To the right Lake Como with below Sorico, Gera and further away the protruding point of Domaso; at the opposite side of lake and the entrance of the bay of Piona. Already in the 12th century a church was built on this place, dedicated to Saint Michael. This Roman church covered the right nave of the present church. Miro was buried here and from the very beginning his grave attracted many visitors. A legend says that the inhabitants of Sorico wanted the tomb in the church below, whereas the people in the mountain villages preferred the church of Saint Michael. The difference of opinions was solved when two ravens flew to the latter church. In 1452 the church was expanded, and consecrated four years later by the bishop of Como and dedicated to S. Miro. Only the right-hand wall with two small windows is still from the original building. The bell tower, standing

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at the place of the present entrance was demolished in 1627 and a new tower was built behind the church. Entering the church one is overwhelmed by the many colourful decorations. During a restoration in 1987 frescoes were discovered at the left-hand wall under a layer of stucco. We see two Nursing Madonnas, painted in 1483 and 1497. The frescoes on the pillar of the left nave date from the 15th and 16th century, as for instance Saint Sebastian on the first pillar left, painted in the last decade of the 15th century. The decorations attracting most attention are the frescoes in the right nave, all painted by Sigismundo de Magistris in 1526**. This series is dedicated to S. Miro and S. Antonio Abbot. The azure blue ceiling shows S. Miro surrounded by believers, S. Michael (referring to the former church), S. Stefano and S. Vincenzo (referring to the parishes of Sorico and Gera), and finally in the centre God the Father. On the pillars many saints are depicted. At the end of the right nave we find the chapel of S. Antonio, again painted by De Magistris. Below the frescoes there is an altar with nice stucco from an 18th century master of Val d’Intelvi. The frescoes above the main altar are from the second half of the 19th century, made by Luigi Tagliaferri. Also of interest is the painting above the altar, made in 1616 by Il Fiammenghino. It shows the Madonna with Child with on the left and on the right Archangel Michael defeating the dragon and Miro in pilgrim’s clothing, giving alms to the poor. From here we can follow the path downwards again, but below I give two alternative routes:

1. Alternative route starting at La Torre. Just below the tower one can follow the path between a group of houses, the via Antica Regina. It soon becomes a footpath that ends at the road to Albonico. We go downwards and reach the main road near the bridge over the Mera, the Ponte del Passo. We follow the road back in the direction of Sorico for about 100 metres until the bar Collo, where you can cross the road and take the walking/bike path along the Mera back to the centre of Sorico. At the end the path makes a right turn to the bridge over the ‘Torrente Sorico’. If you go straight on after the bridge you’ll end on the piazza Batista in the village centre. If you go left after the bridge you can follow the path along the lake that ends at the port of Gera Lario. 2. Alternative route from the church of S. Miro From the church we take the footpath at the lakeside (if you are thirsty you’ll find a little fountain with drinking water at the back of the church). Walk uphill to the abandoned houses of Corzone, from where the road goes downwards to the houses of Masina, where it reaches the asphalt road to Albonico. We go to the right until, after some hairpins, we reach a footpath that ends at La Torre. The trip takes about one hour.

View from the church of S. Miro: in front Sorico with the church of S. Stefano, in the background Gera Lario with the statue at the port

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