Chiesa dei Santi Cosma e Damiano (Barzola)

The church of Saints Cosmas and Damian stands in Barzola, a hamlet of Angera. Its Romanesque bell tower is associated with the medieval church, while the present building combines later Baroque and twentieth-century phases.

Why it matters

A church at Barzola is documented by the late thirteenth century, originally under the dedication of San Quirico. From the sixteenth century, it was dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian. The eleventh-century tower is among the oldest surviving Romanesque bell towers in the province of Varese.

What to notice

The exterior uses alternating river pebbles, serizzo, granite and brick, arranged with pilasters and hanging arches. The bell tower's openings widen toward a terminal mullioned window. Inside, the apse vault carries frescoes of the symbols of the four Evangelists. A painting of the Madonna of Fatima by Paolo Rivetta hangs behind the altar, framed by frescoed praying angels.

Context and history

The church was rebuilt in the eighteenth century on the footprint of the medieval building and enlarged again in the 1940s. Its masonry and tower preserve evidence of different construction periods within the same parish complex. The church forms part of Angera's Museo Diffuso heritage circuit.