Voltaggio

Discover the charm of Voltaggio, a medieval village nestled in the mountains of Oltregiogo. Narrow alleys, ancient churches and breathtaking views await you in this corner of Piedmont, where history and nature come together in a unique atmosphere.
Population
653
Altitude
342 m
About & Tourism

Voltaggio was subject to the Obertengo rule and the Lordship of the Bishops Counts of Tortona in the 10th century, then in 1121 came under the rule of the Republic of Genoa.

What to see in Voltaggio

Important paintings are preserved inside the religious building.

“Saint Sebastian and the Pious Women” and ‘ The Baptism of Christ’ by painter Domenico Casella.
“The Virgin, St. Clare and St. Michael” by Painter Giovanni Battista Poggi.
“The Miracle of St. Aegidius” and the ‘Beheading of the Baptist’ by the Voltagian painter Bernardo Carrodio.

But the place of ‘honor belongs to a painting by Sinibaldo Scorza dated 1617 “The Immaculate Conception.”

The Villa Morgavi, formerly home in 1647, of the Albergo dell’Aquila, hosted in 1815, Victor Emmanuel and Maria Theresa on a visit to the Genoese territory.

The oratory has relevant architectural features: the accentuated verticalization of the front, the other niches surrounded by pilasters, and the strongly projecting middle entablature.

The single-nave interior of complex geometry with circular apse.

It was founded in 1854 and further enlarged in 1882 by Dr. Giambattista Romanengo, who was for more than half a century a landmark of the Genoese bourgeoisie for their vacations.

Opposite Palazzo Spinola stands the Palazzo Comunale , formerly the seat of the jusdicente “dell’Ordine nobile” appointed by the Republic of Genoa to govern the “Podesteria di Voltaggio”

Inside the council chamber are several paintings of the 17th-18th century Genoese school including a portrait of Genoese notary Carlo Bisio and a “Landscape with Ruins” attributable to a follower of painter Antonio Travi known as “Il Sistri.

The church was built in 1202: however, the origins of the church may be earlier.

Inside the church are twelve altars.

The high altar was built of wood, then in 1770, transformed into marble by Pompeo Scorza.

The altarpiece above the altar depicts “The Assumption of the Virgin” and was made by Sinibaldo Scorza in the second decade of the 17th century.

In the second altar a plaque commemorates Father Francesco Scalioso, who initiated Sinibaldo Scorza into an apprenticeship in Paggi’s workshop.

Other works housed are:

Polychrome wooden sculpture by Antonio Maria Maragliano;
Roundels of the Mysteries of the Rosary painted on copper by Sinibaldo Scorza;
Early 16th-century marble bas-relief;
Commemorative inscription commemorating the visit to Voltaggio on June 15, 1815 by Pope Pius VII.

In the spandrels of the vault are frescoes painted in 1690 by painter Carlo Donati depicting the most distinguished members of Voltaggio’s religious history:

Giovanni Battista De Rossi, beatified by Pius IX in 1860 and canonized by Leo VII in 1881;

Maria Repetto, the nun of the Brignoline Sisters, beatified by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 04, 1981;

Nicolo’ Olivieri and Maddalena Bisio, faithful collaborators in the work of the venerable Olivieri.

The Palace preserves tombstones dating from the 12th-13th centuries: the oldest dated 1161 provides the earliest evidence of the Castle’s existence on site.

The Palace is the historic residence of the Scorza family, where the painter Sinibaldo Scorza, a descendant of the Counts of Lavagna, was born on July 16, 1589.

A late 16th-century palace, it originally belonged to the local De Ferrari branch.

An inscription in elgant Latin in the entrance hall recalls that Philip V King of Spain was hosted here in 1702.

It was the summer residence of Maria Brignole Sale in the second half of the 19th century.

Contiguous to Palazzo De Ferrari stands the Oratory of S. Maria deel Gonfalone.

Administered by the brotherhood of the same name, which adopts the white surcoat with blue cape the brotherhood is referred to as the “Company of Ransom and Holy Trinity.

In 1609 the institution administered a testamentary bequest for dowries to poor girls and was attached to the Archconfraternity of Santa Maria del Gonfalone.

Works inside:

Relics of St. Clement Martyr exhumed from the cemetery of Callistus on the Appian Way;

Painting commemorating the event executed by painter Bartolomeo Agosti;

Polychrome wooden statue of St. Giovanni Battista De Rossi from the second half of the 19th century;

Shovels by local painter Bernardo Carrosio;

Banner of the 1641 company of Bernardo Carrosio.

Romanesque bridge leading to the peri-urban area of the Lower Mill where the De Ferrari Iron Works operated in the 19th century.

The exposed stone structure, with two asymmetrical arches, parapet and rosti, represents the oldest building in the municipality.

The existence of this oratory dates back to 1582.

A number of altarpieces of the Genoese school of great quality are preserved inside.

The Congregation of St. Mary in Portico, under the title of St. Anthony Abbot, was established in this oratory.

The building built in 1603 has preserved the tradition of Franciscan presence.

In the small church are preserved:

  • Wooden sculpture of the Assumption made by BARTOLOMEO Carrea.
  • Statues of the Nazarene, Our Lady of Sorrows, and the Dead Jesus from the School of Graziano da Faenza.
  • Crucifix by Maragliano and 15 relief forms of the Way of the Cross, an 18th-century French work.
  • 250 objects collected in the second half of the 19th century by Father Pietro Repetto.

In addition, the core of the Collection begun in 1877 and continued by the Volga religious Father Pietro Repetto, consists of more than one hundred paintings that assemble some of the finest names in Genoese painting

It is the second largest conservancy in Piedmont.

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