Mezzegra history guide

Mezzegra   has about 1,000 inhabitants (called & ldquo; Mezzegresi & ldquo;), has a surface of 3.4 square kilometers and rises 200 m above sea level. It is rich in   history and art and is divided into six districts: Azzano, Pola, Giulino, Bonzanigo, Mugnano and Ganzo. Its name comes from the Latin & ldquo; in medio agrum or in medio agros & ldquo; which means in the middle of or between fields.

The village became world famous because Benito Mussolini and his lover Claretta Petacci were there was executed by partisans at the entrance gate of Villa Belmonte number 14 on April 28, 1945. On the day of death, some devotees gather at this place.

AZZANO
Azzano is a magical place, right on the lake shore. The narrow streets of the historic center lead into the beautiful little square called Piazza Magnolia because of the large tree in its center.
Reached via the promenade one can see the oratory of St. Kajetan (1) (also called the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows), which was built in 1670 by the Brentano family.
The main altar with a Piet & agrave; (Jesus in the arms of Mary, St. John and Mary Magdalene) made of wood and plaster.
On the side of the ship is the altar of St. Kajetan, which is adorned with a painting of the saint holding a lily in his hands, and the altar of the Immaculate Virgin Mary with a painting of Our Lady driving a snake away.
If you continue along the lakeshore you will reach a small and quiet public park (2).

GIULINO
If you take the Regina state road to the upper part of the village, you will reach Giulino , where a cross marks the official place of death of Mussolini (3). In fact, the village witnessed an important historical event: on April 28, 1945, in front of the bars in Via XXIV Aprile, the fascist Benito Mussolini and his lover Claretta Petacci were shot after they had been stopped by the partisan association between Musso and Dongo the day before , arrested and locked in the De Maria house in Via Reale 4, where they spent their last night.

ORATORY OF SANTA JOSEPH  
West of Giulino lies this rather modest baroque oratory from the early eighteenth century, which was formerly a patrician chapel. With an arcade in front of it, this simple structure with a single nave contains an altar panel depicting Our Lady with the Child and Saints Joseph and Charles. The work of art is attributable to Giulio Quaglio and was executed at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

BONZANIGO
When walking along the main street or through the narrow G & r; sschen after the Mussolini cross continues to the upper part of the village, you reach the village of Bonzanigo.
From an artistic point of view, it is the most important district, where paths, underpasses and old & ldquo; H & auml ; user & ldquo; There are numerous wall paintings and chapels. In this regard, one must point out the house with the mural of an angel, which is on the street that goes down from the parish church of Saint Abbondio to Bonzanigo.
The ascending street of Saint Anne, that of characterized by a beautiful mural, connects the historic center, where the Brentano Palace is located, with the parish church of Saint Abbondio.

CHURCH OF SANTA ABBONDIO
The Parish church of Saint Abbondio rises separately on a hill at the end of the village, with the facade facing the lake.
The church was probably built in the 12th century in Romanesque style. Then it was rebuilt in 1702 by local immigrants and consecrated in 1724. During the reconstruction, the right side of the church, which is now furnished as a rectory, was left untouched.
The majestic building has an elegant baroque facade and a bell tower next to it.
The interior of the church is one grand structure with a single nave ending in a deep presbytery. The church houses seventeenth-century frescoes by Giovan Mauro della Rovere, called & ldquo; Il Fiamminghino, & rdquo; surrounded by stucco decorations by Pietro Silva. The Fiamminghino, so named because of his father's Flemish ancestry, was born in Milan in 1575 and worked for many years in the area around Lake Como.
He is remembered as a bizarre one and exuberant, but extraordinary artist, with a keen sense of color and a great expressiveness. The church is dominated by the particular vault, which was frescoed by Giulio Quaglio from Laino between 1714 and 1716. Recently restored, the vault depicts the Blessed Abbondio in the presence of the Trinity and the Apostle, with evangelists wrapped in the vault. When you observe the perfect harmony of colors and the delicacy of the profiles, you really have the feeling of hearing heavenly music rising into the sky.

BRENTANO PALACE
The ancient palace belonged to the influential family with origins on Lake Como, who later moved to Milan and Germany. Today it is partly set up as a town hall and partly as a residential complex, but it still retains the structure of the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries. Inside, the frescoed vaults by Quaglio are remarkable. In addition to the palace there are three other residential buildings: House Brentano with arched corridors and hanging structures, House Rosati with impressive frescoes inside and House Abbate with & ldquo; Sogno di Giobbe & rdquo; of the seventeenth century. In the vicinity is the Bishop's Palace, a magnificent building with an ancient portal and columns with frescoes from mythological episodes.

MOUNTAIN OF THE STAMPI
By Bonzanigo for ; hears a path to the mountain of the & ldquo; Stampi & rdquo; where there are rocks rich in fossils. These fossils, which are similar in shape and size to a horse's hoof, are called in the dialect & ldquo; p & egrave; de cavai & rdquo; called, ie hooves of the horse, and were the origin of numerous legends. The first legend says that Noah's ark docked there! The second relates to a place in the area called & ldquo; pr & agrave; del taca & rdquo; where it is said that the witches from Lezzeno used to meet there.