Church of S. Antonio della Motta

The church of Sant’Antonio Abate alla Motta, in the heart of Varese, was rebuilt from 1593 to a design by Giuseppe Bernascone, known as il Mancino: the apse was raised in 1606, the façade completed in 1613 and the bell tower founded in 1619. The interior is entirely decorated with the eighteenth-century frescoes of Giovan Battista Ronchelli, within the painted frameworks of Giuseppe Baroffio (1756).

In 2012 RIVA carried out the conservative restoration of the façade, the nave and the painted decorations. The church’s restoration campaign, directed by the architect Angela Baila, included the renewal of the external plasters and of the roof and, inside, the laser removal of the 1970s enamel fillings that had damaged the frescoes.

An intervention judged exemplary by specialists and presented at a diocesan conference on cultural heritage.