Church of Santa Croce

Site overview

The church, originally located outside the town, was dedicated to the Holy Apostles James and Philip. Since the early 14th century, it has served as the seat of the Confraternity of the Disciplinati of the Holy Cross, an organization that cared for the sick. Members of this confraternity, known as battuti bianchi (white penitents) due to their white albs and hoods that concealed their identities, operated a hospitium peregrinorum, a type of hospital, next to the church to assist strangers and pilgrims, while the residents of Lanzo received care at home.

The hospital’s activities came to an end towards the middle of the 17th century, although the Confraternity has continued to administer the church’s assets and properties to this day.

The current building clearly displays Baroque features inside, while the exterior walls, particularly on the south side, are distinguished by friezes and arches of fine Gothic workmanship. In Santa Croce, visitors can admire statues and paintings, including a precious 16th-century altarpiece, an 18th-century crucifix known as the “Lucca Crucifix”, a Shroud, and other processional furnishings used during the twenty-five-yearly Festival of the Risen Christ.