La Collegiata

The Collegiata of Saints Gervasio and Protasio, the city’s patron saints, is Sondrio’s main church and one of the oldest in Valtellina.

Erected in the Middle Ages, it was modified many times and finally expanded in the early seventeen hundreds, erasing any remaining traces of the original structure. The current building displays a mixture of architectural styles, due to three distinct interventions; one involving the nave, in baroque style, designed by Pietro Ligari (1727-1739), another the presbytery, rebuilt according to neoclassical canons by Pietro Taglioretti (1797) and lastly the façade, redone by Giuseppe Sertoli in 1838. Inside, there are several canvases and frescoes worthy of note, by Pietro Ligari, Antonio Caimi and Giovanni Gavazzeni, and six lateral altars also designed by Ligari. Even the building of the bell tower was a combined effort: the initial, ambitious design was Ligari’s (1733), but financial difficulties drove the community to a more modest realization. The tower was begun by a native of Canton Ticino, Giacomo Cometti, but finished by the architect Pietro Solari.