Costigliole d'Asti – The Parish Church of Sant'Anna

Before 1255, on the top of the hill of Sant’Anna, there existed a small church called “Santa Maria del Sasso,” possibly named after a public fountain located nearby. In the 15th century, the church was listed as one of the four that served as parish churches in the Costigliole area, but it was suppressed in 1538. By 1567, the oratory was described as being in a near-ruinous state. Reports from 1605 and 1619 indicate that the situation had further deteriorated, with the building having lost its roof. Around 1635, as a votive offering for having escaped the plague, the sacred structure was rebuilt and dedicated to Saint Anne. This new dedication was due to the will of the nuns of an important monastery in Asti bearing the same name, who owned vast properties in the area.

Over time, the oratory became increasingly inadequate for the growing needs of the population. Starting in 1696, the townspeople obtained permission from the Bishop of Pavia to build a larger church. The new place of worship—corresponding to the current central nave—was begun in 1698 and was blessed on July 26, 1702, by the parish priest of Costigliole, Monsignor Scotti. The church was completely restored between 1865 and 1869. In 1900, the right-side aisle was added, and between 1954 and 1958, the left-side aisle was built—occupying the space of the former rectory—based on a design by architect Carlo Alberto Bordogna (1913–1998) and the construction company of Ettore Mondino.

The elegant and slender bell tower was erected between 1875 and 1880 by the local surveyor Pietro Gallino. The church’s exposed brick façade is particularly beautiful, featuring two overlapping sections marked by a double order of paired pilasters and crowned by a triangular pediment. The current interior decoration dates to the 1968–1969 restoration (carried out by decorator Frascaroli from Alessandria). Noteworthy are the apse frescoes depicting two angels in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, painted by Carlo Valfredi. A beautiful early 18th-century wooden statue of Saint Anne, attributed to either Carlo Giuseppe Plura (1665–1737) or Giovanni Battista Bonzanigo (second half of the 17th century–1748), is housed above a marble altar from 1968 in the left aisle.

The hamlet of Sant’Anna is also the birthplace of the Venerable Monsignor Giovanni Ferro (1901–1992), Archbishop of Reggio Calabria from 1950 to 1977. Walking through the vineyards, one can reach the rural oratory of Saints Salvario and Siro, already documented in the 16th century and rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century.