THE SANCTUARY

THE SANCTUARY OF OUR LADY OF SANTO SEPOLCRO AND MARIA BAMBINA was commissioned by the family heads of the community of Rezzo, who met in 1444, and stands on the remains of an ancient medieval chapel dedicated to the Madonna. The building was built during the fifteenth century by local workers and craftsmen. Made in about fifty years in Romanesque-Gothic style, it was solemnly consecrated and opened to religious worship in 1492 by the bishop Leonardo Marchesi of the diocese of Albenga and it soon became one of the most important religious architectural monuments of the Arroscia valley so as to be included in the year 2000 among the jubilee churches.

The interior of the sanctuary has three naves divided by columns with carved capitals while externally the facade is characterized by a stone rose window. The different cycles of frescoes are the work of Pietro Guido da Ranzo dating back to 1515, with representations relating to scenes from the Bible.

In a niche there is a marble statue of the Madonna and Child of the seventeenth century, the work of the sculptor Filippo Parodi pupil of the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Formerly preserved in the church was the painting of the Madonna and Child between Saints Giovanni Battista and Martino di Tours, now kept in the municipal palace of Rezzo, originally attributed to the hand of Giovanni Battista Gastaldi.