Oratorio di Santa Maria (Garbagna Novarese)

Oratorio di Santa Maria (Oratory of Saint Mary), commonly known as Madonna di Campagna (Madonna of the Countryside), is a small medieval oratory located northeast of the village of Garbagna Novarese, in the province and diocese of Novara, near the Novara–Alessandria railway line. History The construction of the building is estimated to have taken place between 1050 and 1075, particularly the apse, with subsequent modifications dating to the 12th century. The first documented reference to the church dates to 1077, with a later citation in 1181. The appearance of the building has been significantly altered over the centuries, without, however, compromising its original structure or the valuable frescoes preserved inside. A 1347 document concerning the investiture of an ecclesiastical benefice (Consignationes) records that the chaplain of the oratory was an unnamed priest from Cantù, who did not reside in the adjoining house. The oratory's lands amounted to 65 pertiche (equivalent to over four hectares), most of which were arable. In 1490, the painter Gian Antonio Merli executed a Madonna and Child in the space above the entrance, though the fresco was later lost. The building underwent renovations during the Gothic period, when the dentil arches were added — still visible today inside the adjoining house and originally also present on the north side. In the 18th century, the house adjoining the southern side of the church was inhabited by a hermit (romito), who lived by begging in both Garbagna and the surrounding areas, in accordance with the arrangements established by the episcopal curia of Novara. In 1848, the same role was assigned to a certain Carlo Maria Zorzoli, whose identity remains unknown. During the cholera pandemic of 1854–1855, the building was used as a lazaretto. The façade originally featured a simple gabled profile, with a wide double-pitched eave protecting a fifteenth-century fresco of the Nursing Madonna above the door. It was remodeled in 1908 in the neoclassical style by architect Giovanni Lazanio, who raised the wall significantly above the nave's roof. The unusual appearance was met with criticism; emblematic are the words of architectural historian Paolo Verzone in 1936: a very high and presumptuous façade that, protruding like an isolated wall above the roofs, gives the monument a comical appearance. It was later further modified, with its height reduced to the current level for structural reasons. During the pastoral visit on August 7, 1932, the Bishop of Novara, Giuseppe Castelli, noted the urgent need for repairs to the building. He therefore recommended notifying the podestà (the political office that replaced the mayor during the Fascist era) to intervene and, among other measures, preserve the valuable frescoes. Between the 1960s and 1970s, unknown individuals entered the building through a window of the adjoining house and stole the ancient altar along with a small marble column. Between 1994 and 2000, the municipality of Garbagna commissioned a conservation and restoration project, which encompassed the crawl space, walls, roofs, interior plaster, and frescoes. The work was coordinated by architect Maria Grazia Porzio and two local companies from Novara, under the supervision of the Superintendence for the Historical, Artistic, and Ethno-Anthropological Heritage of Piedmont. Exterior Today, the building consists of a single nave, a semicircular apse, and a gabled wooden roof. The walls are primarily constructed of horizontally laid bricks bound with mortar, except on the sides and the façade, where irregular reused materials were employed. The exterior of the apse is divided into five sections by pilasters and topped with blind arches arranged in groups of three. Originally, four splayed single-lancet windows lit the interior — two in the apse and two on the southern wall. These were bricked up in the 15th century, when the interior was frescoed. The fresco above the entrance was still visible in 1980, but had disappeared by 2009. Interior The oratory houses thirteen frescoes from the 15th century, located on the semicircular apse wall and the left wall of the nave. Restoration efforts in recent years have enhanced their legibility and visual impact. In the apse area, from left to right, we find: Saint Bernardino of Siena and Saint Bobo; Madonna enthroned with Child, crowned by two musician angels, with Saint Francis presenting the kneeling patron; the painting dates to 1481 and is signed by Tommaso Cagnola; it is regarded as a key work for understanding Cagnola's artistic output; in the center, a Pietà of great dramatic tension, still rich in Romanesque echoes, dating to the early 15th century; from the same period is a small depiction of Saint Helena, placed above a single-lancet window; Madonna with Child, also dating to the beginning of the 15th century; on the far right, the Blessed Peter Lombard and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. On the left wall is a long cartouche containing seven frescoes. From left to right: Saint Gratus of Aosta; Madonna enthroned with naked Child; Vision of Saint Eustace: recognized for its historical, religious, and aesthetic value, the painting is notable for the artist’s ability to transform a scene of noble hunting life into a religious image through the miraculous appearance of a crucifix between the deer’s antlers; like other works on the same wall, it is also attributed to the Cagnola workshop; Saint Bernard of Aosta; Madonna enthroned with Child (of the shoe); Saint Catherine of Alexandria; Madonna enthroned with Child and a little friar. Apse frescoes Left wall frescoes Turism It is one of the stages of Cascina Baraggiolo itineraries, as part of Vie verdi del riso (Green Roads of Rice) theme, and Novara e provincia - Una finestra sul territorio (Novara and province - A window on the territory), on section La Pianura del Riso (The Plain of Rice). Furthermore it is reported by Itinerari d'arte nel Novarese (Art itineraries in Novarese). In literature The writer Dante Graziosi mentions the frescoes of the Oratorio di Santa Maria in his work La terra degli aironi (The land of herons), in a passage from the chapter Gli studenti di campagna (Country students), which is dedicated to the art of ancient religious buildings scattered across the Bassa Novarese. Alongside the oratory, he cites the church of Sologno (a hamlet of Caltignaga), the oratory of Gionzana (a hamlet of Novara), the parish church of Vespolate, and the abbey of San Nazzaro Sesia. This art, preserved in these timeless places, centuries ago helped to strengthen the faith of the poor and, at the same time, reaffirm the authority of the wealthy patron families. See also Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo (Garbagna Novarese) History of Garbagna Novarese Garbagna Novarese farmsteads, whose owners commissioned some frescos of Santa Maria, during Middle Ages References Bibliography Massara, Antonio (1904). L'iconografia di Maria Vergine nell'arte novarese [The iconography of the Virgin Mary in Novara art] (in Italian). Novara: Stab. tip. f.lli Miglio. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Internet archive. Massara, Antonio (1906a). "I primordii dell'arte novarese (parte 1)" [The beginnings of Novara art (part 1)]. Rassegna d'Arte (in Italian) (11). Milan: Menotti Bassani & C.: 170–173. Retrieved July 25, 2022. Massara, Antonio (1906b). "I primordii dell'arte novarese (parte 2)" [The beginnings of Novara art (part 2)]. Rassegna d'Arte (in Italian) (12). Milan: Menotti Bassani & C.: 181–186. Retrieved July 25, 2022. Cassani, Lino; Colli, Ernesto (1948). Memorie storiche di Garbagna Novarese [Historical memories of Garbagna Novarese] (in Italian). Novara: Tip. Pietro Riva & C. Retrieved July 17, 2021 – via Foto Emilio Alzati. Ferro, Giovan Battista; Ferro, Filippo Maria (1972). Affreschi novaresi del Quattrocento [Novara frescoes from the 15th century]. L'arte nel Novarese (in Italian). Novara: Società Storica Novarese. Franzosi, Franca (1986a). Un episodio della cultura figurativa novarese: Santa Maria di Garbagna e i suoi affreschi quattrocenteschi [An episode of Novara figurative culture: Santa Maria of Garbagna and its fifteenth‑century frescoes] (Thesis) (in Italian). Maria Luisa Gatti Perer and Franco Mazzini (supervisors). Milan: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano. Retrieved 14 May 2026 – via Comune di Garbagna Novarese. Franzosi, Franca (1986b). "Un episodio della cultura figurativa novarese: S. Maria di Garbagna e i suoi affreschi quattrocenteschi" [An episode of Novara figurative culture: Santa Maria of Garbagna and its fifteenth‑century frescoes] (PDF). Società Storica Novarese - Segnalazioni di tesi di laurea (in Italian). pp. 6–12. Retrieved May 8, 2025. Franzosi, Franca (2001). "L'oratorio di Santa Maria de Agris a Garbagna Novarese" [The oratory of Santa Maria de Agris in Garbagna Novarese]. In Gian Piero Colombo (ed.). Segni e tracce di architettura romanica nel Novarese. Rilievi e immagini [Signs and traces of Romanesque architecture in the Novara area. Surveys and images]. I segni (in Italian). Novara: Interlinea. ISBN 88-8212-319-7. Retrieved August 3, 2021. Bisogni, Fabio; Calciolari, Chiara, eds. (2006). "Garbagna - Santa Maria". Affreschi novaresi del Trecento e del Quattrocento: arte, devozione e società [Novara frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries: art, devotion, and society] (in Italian). Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana. ISBN 978-8-83-660651-1. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Academia. External links Image gallery and virtual tour on Foto Emilio Alzati Image gallery on Chiese Romaniche e Gotiche del Piemonte