St. Bernard's Church

A particular mention deserves the little St. Bernard's Church which is undoubtedly the oldest church in the village, although we do not know the date of construction. Inside there is a series of frescoes that were discovered in the summer of 1946, after centuries hidden under thick layers of lime. They were restored by the Superintendence of Environmental Heritage and for let them be visible from the outside, the original entrance door was knocked down and replaced by an iron gate. The frescoes, painted before 1536, present thematic and symbolic analogies with those existing in the sanctuary of Montegrazie, near Porto Maurizio. Originally the interior of the St. Bernard's Church was all frescoed, but it was possible to recover only the paintings on the side walls. Today we can admire some of the scenes representing the passion, death and resurrection of Christ; in the lower part on the left there are the seven Virtues and on the right anallegory of the deadly sins: seven damned in chains, riding monstrous animals, advance towards a snake with an enormous wide open mouth. On the same wall there are the remains of other paintings ; above a slit window there is a reproduction of the coat of arms of the Republic of Genoa and at the bottom left there is the figure of a Benedictine monk, a clear reminder of their presence in this area.

Affreschi San Bernardo Andagna
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