Growing Pains: San Pietro in Lamosa, not far from Lake Iseo (Brescia)

"This building is unique," the custodian told me when I entered San Pietro - "there are other churches with different architectural styles, but none that are four buildings in one space." His comment sounds odd, but I'd have to say he's right.

The church is perched on a small rise in the shadow of a steep mountain, overlooking what is now a lake and was once a peat bog, on a spot that was holy long before Christianity put an end to the pagan cults. At least that's what some scholars have gathered from a badly preserved fresco of what appears to be a sun god the wall of the earliest side chapel, which predates the rest of the church. About 1080 a local noble gave the property with the pagan chapel to a chapter of monks from Cluny, one of the great Benedictine houses. Devotion on the part of a pious lord, one might think, but that's not all: The bishops of the time had considerable temporal power that they exercised freely for Church and personal gain. A gift to monks, who depended upon an abbot, rather than the bishop, served to dilute this power.

In any case, whereas many abbeys worked the land, reclaiming the wilderness and helping to reestablish the agriculture that had been lost during the dark ages, San Pietro became a sanctuary where travelers could stop to rest in safety. The monks were good administrators (according the internal reports compiled by inspector monks sent from Cluny) and the monastery grew. So did the church, in a thoroughly haphazard way: Another side chapel was added in 1130. A century later the nave of the church was lengthened and its roof raised; by this time, however, the power of Cluny was on the wane, and some of the architectural elements bring to mind Assisi, home of the Franciscans.

By the 1350s Cluny's downward spiral had steepened. Though they were closing down chapter houses throughout Europe (monks of other more successful orders were taking them over) they managed to hold onto San Pietro, albeit with a reduced workforce of 3 monks and one priest. They were still hanging on in 1456, when the Prior's father (a local noble) commissioned a fresco in one of the side chapels. In 1536, however, San Pietro was assigned to Brescia's Order of San Salvatore.

The new owners expanded the apse, added a final side chapel, and shifted a wall to make room for a baptismal font - necessary because San Pietro was now the parish church. Things remained steady until the Napoleonic government of the late 1790s, which confiscated and sold many ecclesiastical properties; San Pietro became property of Francesco Bergomi. 20 years later a new parish church was built in the middle of town and San Pietro fell into disuse. Over the years neglect and vandals took their toll, and by the time the Bonini Family gave the church back to the parish in 1983 the building was stripped bare and its roof was beginning to collapse.

"Then what is there to see?" you might ask. Once the volunteers who replaced the roof finished paving the floor they began to remove the whitewash from the walls, and what has emerged is incredible - layer upon layer of frescoes in many styles. In many cases the same scene is repeated, and there will be, for example, a Madonna whose head and shoulders are Renaissance, while the rest of her body continues in a simpler style on an underlying layer.

Unfortunately, I can't show you any pictures of the inside (this fresco is in the cloister) - when the Superintendent for Arts and Antiquities heard about the wonderful things emerging in a building his office had let go to ruin, he said NO PHOTOGRAPHS and even thought about closing the building to the public. Boneheaded bureaucracy in action here - the only way things like this can survive is if people appreciate them, and the only way that can happen is if they see them. So, if you're in the area of Lago d'Iseo, near Brescia, visit San Pietro in Lamosa, just outside the town of Provaglio d'Iseo. You'll like it.

Getting there: Lago d'Iseo is west of Brescia; exit the A4 highway at Rovato, follow the signs for Iseo, and then for Provaglio d'Iseo. There's quite a bit to see in the area, which is also gaining an excellent reputation for sparkling wines. Indeed, I visited the church between visits to Ca del Bosco and Bellavista. If you like fine foods, you should also consider visiting L'Albereta - its restaurant is directed by Gualtiero Marchesi, considered by many Italy's top chef.

More on Franciacorta DOCG and some recipes to enjoy with it.

Have a great day!
Kyle Phillips

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Text & Photos © Kyle Phillips