Santa Maria dei Ghirli, Campione

Santa Maria dei Ghirli is a popular pilgrimage destination. It houses important frescoes from the 14th and 17th century. The church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was documented as early as 674. The current building dates from the 13th and 14th century, while the choir and the interior underwent a reconstruction during the Baroque era (1623-1636). The pronaos was added to the façade between 1730 and 1740. The church was extensively restored in 1962/1970. This remarkable rectangular building is located to the south of Campione on a terrace that is accessible from the shores of Lake Lugano over a double stairwell with four flights. The pronaos in the Baroque style overlooks the lake and is designed as a triumphal arch with an accentuated centre part. To its side, we find two diverging columns carrying the arched tympanum including a cymatium and flanked by volutes and vases. The simple side portals are designed as porches. Adjacent to the north wing of the church, we find a low Gothic belfry with a cone-shaped roof. The Baroque presbytery, which matches the design of the nave, is located below an octagonal barrel dome with segmental arches forming blind windows (as only the one facing south is actually open) and niches. The dome is crowned by a lantern. The rectangular choir ends in an altar niche. The sacristy is located behind the altar. The frescoes in the church were only rediscovered in the late 19th century and have been meticulously restored after 1962. The outside wall facing south features an unusual depiction of the Day of Judgement: Christ the Saviour is seated on a Gothic throne surrounded by richly clad angels. To the feet of Christ we see the righteous saved by Christ to the right. They include both lay people and clerics. To the left, we can see the condemned who follow Lucifer. On the dark red background of the bottom part of the picture, we have a vivid depiction of hell. To the right, there is a demon weighing the sins and punishments that the damned must suffer. The apocalyptic significance of the fresco is further highlighted by the sun and the moon shown above the scene and the male figures symbolising the elements. An inscription on the pedestal of the throne (1444) denotes the names of the artists behind the painting as Franco de Veris and his son Filippolo. The reasonably well preserved fresco is in the Gothic style. Its gestures and general depictions are highly artistic yet conventional and based on a complex iconography. Above the side portal, we find a fresco of the Annunciation (1474). The second pillar caries a statue of a monk with sword dating from ca. 1400. The last pillar supports Mary with Jesus (1480). The illusionistic architectural frame around the fresco dates from the Renaissance period and depicts scenes from the Paradise based on Genesis. It is attributed to Luini, ca. 1514. These scenes were originally painted onto the north portal of the church and later transferred to canvas to be incorporated into the wall showing the Last Judgement (1893). The side walls of the nave and the wall opposite the entrance are covered in Gothic frescoes from the late 14th century.