GATTI & TRIANGIA – a mystery to be solved!

Posted byVirginia MerliniPosted inUncategorized
On the left is a painting in the Chiesa di San Bernardo of Triangia and on the right is a Wall Madonna from Gatti

After I found the fourth Wall Madonna painted by Francesco Ambrosione I decided to visit the upper villages of Mangialdo, Barboni and Ruvari  – all frazioni of Castione Andevenno – and all very old. But I had to drive through Triangia to get to them.  Triangia is a frazione of Sondrio and because I stopped to take a walk I made a really exciting discovery. The parish church was open and there was a 1681 painting of the Madonna & Child between two saints and it looked exactly like the old fresco I found in Gatti! I have offered montages for comparison. On the top left is a detail from the painting I found the 16th-century Chiesa di San Bernardo – the parish church of Triangia. The bottom left show a detail of the Madonna. The painting is dated to 1681. On the top right is the Wall Madonna that I found on a building in Gatti that was dated to 1716. I think they are remarkably similar and could be by the same artist. Here are more views of the artworks.

Gatti – Wall Madonna

This is a full view of the Wall Madonna I found in Gatti. The Madonna is located in the center of a double row of very old homes. It is quite near the western side of the village and just inside the rows of old from from the town fountain and laundry.

Gatti – Wall Madonna

This is a full view of the home taken with a wide-angle lens. Unfortunately some vandal spray-painted graffiti on the front door.

Gatti – the date on the front of the home

Here is a photo of the date on the front of the home – 1716

Gatti – view of the frazione from the local cemetery where there is always free parking!

A view of Gatti from the cemetery where one can always find free parking.

Postalesio seen from Gatti.

This is the view from Gatti of Postalesio. This is the Rhaetian Alps side of the Valtellina – the side that gets the sun.

Triangia – Chiesa di San Bernardo – Madonna and Child between two saints.

This is a full view of the painting in the parish church of Triangia – Chiesa di San Bernardo, 16th-century. The painting is dated 1681band dedicated by Giacomo Morrone

Triangia – Chiesa di San Bernardo – dedication
Triangia – front entry doors of the Chiesa di San Bernardo

The entry doors to the church – Chiesa di San Bernardo.

Triangia – view

This is a view of the Orobie Alps from Triangia

Side by side – Gatti Wall Madonna on the left and painting from the church in Triangia on the right

A side-by-side comparison of the head and upper torso of the Madonna – Gatti Wall Madonna on the left and church painting from Triangia on the right. I think the look amazingly similar.

Side-by-side – Triangia painting on the right and Gatti Wall Madonna on the left

The colors are the same, the hair if the same, the face and neck are the same, the mouth is the same – What do you think?

One last photo – a fresco of two male saints that I found at the very western end of Ruvari – the frazione that sits above Triangia and a few meters west of Barboni. It is clear this is quite old and the fresco was once larger. The saint on the left is St Francis of Assisi. The stigmata on his right hand is clearly visible. I think the saint on the right is St Anthony the Abbot.

Ruvari the home with the fresco of two male saints.

Published by Virginia Merlini

I am a retired academic - a sociologist, sociolinguist, ethnographer, and photo-ethnographer. I am building this website and blog to share my passion for the public and private art of Italy. My main focus is on the Wall Madonna. The concept ‘Wall Madonna’ is my own. It is the name I give to the art found on the external walls of many of the homes of the locals which depicts Mary – the woman called Theotokos – God-bearer. I use Wall Madonna to refer to those images frescoed on the outside of homes and public buildings, or the paintings, carvings and statuary attached to the same. My intent is to examine Wall Madonna’s as a type of visual language and gesture in order to come to an understanding of their function and purpose in Italian social life. In searching for Wall Madonna’s I try to present a broader harvest of my quest so that the towns and cities I visit are frescoed for the reader in my blogs. Therefore, I like to include streetscapes, doors – which have a language of their own, vistas, and the life of the people as reflected in the things one sees as one peruses a town. Because my family is from the Valtellina and because the valley is lush and beautiful and steeped in history - and an abundance of Wall Madonna’s – I have a small home here. I love the Valtellina. I hope my photos capture your attention. There is no greater joy than sharing this art with others.

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