Chiesa di Sant'Alessandro, Sisinnio e Martirio

The Church of Sant’Alessandro, Sisinnio and Martirio stands behind Angera’s parish church. Rebuilt in the 1580s over earlier walls, it preserves a Romanesque bell tower and a Baroque interior. Its crypt houses the Museum Ampuriensis and panels associated with the Maestro di Castelsardo.

Why it matters

The church was the principal church, or Ecclesia maior, of the medieval pieve of Angera, which extended to both sides of Lake Maggiore. The dedication honours Sisinnio, Martirio and Alessandro, the Cappadocian martyrs sent to the Val di Non by Bishop Ambrose of Milan. Later, the principal church role passed to the neighbouring Santa Maria Assunta.

What to notice

The Romanesque bell tower dates to the eleventh century. The portal is made from Angera stone and bears a relief of a monstrance, reflecting the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, based at the church from the sixteenth century until after the Second World War. Inside, the high altar holds a Crucifixion with the titular saints by Francesco Lampugnani, painted around 1630. The crypt treasury includes panels by the Maestro di Castelsardo.

Context and history

The church was rebuilt between 1580 and 1585, reusing masonry from an earlier structure, probably dating to the fifth through seventh centuries. Its church-and-crypt complex now includes the Museum Ampuriensis. Among the museum’s works is the Madonna con angeli musicanti retablo, which SardegnaCultura describes as a major achievement of Sardinian painting of its period. The church is listed in Angera’s Museo Diffuso.