Church of Sant’Anastasia and Romanesque Bell Tower

Site overview

The church’s origins stretch back to the 12th century when Benedictine monks, likely alongside a chapel, built the Romanesque bell tower still visible today. The current main structure results from restoration between 1569 and 1610 by Lugano master builders. These craftsmen, commissioned by the “Community of Monastero”, aimed to repair and reconstruct the two old parish chapels: San Michele to the south and Sant’Anastasia to the north, which had formed part of the original church, built “since time immemorial”.

In the 18th century, the church was enriched by the construction of the high altar in the Piedmontese Baroque style, a fine wooden work with decorations and gilding similar to those found in other villages in the Lanzo Valleys. The Altar of the Souls in Purgatory, the entrance portal, and the baptistery date from the same period. Alongside the church stands the bell tower, 23 metres tall and very well preserved.

Local squared stone was used in its construction, bonded with a mortar known as puddingstone. In places, the stones are laid in a herringbone pattern, typical of the Romanesque style.

The structure’s elegant character is accentuated by mullioned windows, small hanging arches, and terracotta cornices. Until it was restored in 1993, the bell tower had a unique feature: a birch tree growing at its top. The exact time it first appeared is unknown, but legend says that about a hundred years ago, Father Bernardino Stobbia, the then provost, tried to cut it down with a rifle. Although he shot the tree, it survived and grew back even more beautiful, continuing to thrive today.