La Chiesa del Solaro

The construction of the church of San Lorenzo Martire in the Solaro area presumably dates back to the early eighteenth century, in execution of a deed of transfer in emphyteusis, stipulated on 16th September 1695 by the canon of San Siro Segurano Gioffredi for the benefit of the nobleman Giacomo Sapia, procurator of the heirs of Genoveffa Dulbecca di Coldirodi, of a plot of land, provided that a chapel with a structure in front of it was built to house pilgrims in case of rain.

In the deed, the Reverend Gioffredi, who was obliged to dedicate the new church to Saint Lawrence the martyr, also instituted a legacy of two hundred scudi for the expenses of erecting the church itself.

In 1832 the building underwent an enlargement, as the text of an inscription affixed in that year on the façade of the church recalls, which is characterised in particular by the pillar portico that acts as a pronaos, according to the typical custom of most of the baroque style sanctuaries erected in western Liguria between the 17th and 18th centuries.
Inside there is a painting depicting the Immaculate Virgin Mary and St. Lawrence, made by an unknown painter from western Liguria in the eighteenth century and placed on the back wall of the presbyterial area.

Following the expansion of the urban centre from the beginning of the last century, the church was initially a branch of the parish of San Rocco, becoming an autonomous parish in 1969: first parish priest Don Contardo Colombi.

(text source: Andrea Gandolfo - images source: personal; WEB)