Frescoes that Speak

In the Alpine Churches of Val Rendena

“I am Death who wears a crown, I am the mistress of every person, such a strong and harsh beast that I pass through doors and beyond walls, and I am the one who makes the world tremble...”.

So says the banner hoisted by a skeleton with a mocking grin. He seems to dance, as he accompanies a procession of nobles and prelates towards their destiny. They are pursued by the arrows of Death, who, riding a horse, bends his bow.

You are in front of the external walls of the Church of San Vigilio, in Pinzolo, and admiring a perfectly preserved 16th-century fresco, painted by Simone II Baschenis. The road is just a few steps away, but here you only hear the rustling of the wind. The fresh air of Val Rendena.

What you see is a “danse macabre”, a traditional subject in the religious iconography of the time, which invited the faithful to reflect on the transience of life. It is an omnipresent theme in these mountainous areas, where entering the woods to hunt or even simply to gather firewood was an act of faith.

That is how your journey through the churches of Trentino begins.

Church of San Vigilio, Pinzolo

After admiring the external frescoes, you are ready to enter this small church in the Dolomites. Inside, you can admire other frescoes by the Baschenis. Yes, because the Baschenis were a family of artists, coming from the Bergamo valleys, who, between the 15th and 16th centuries, frescoed many churches in the western portion of Trentino.

The project engaged several generations of the family for almost a century. Suffice it to say that the works of Antonio Baschenis in Trentino were realised in the mid-15th century, while those of Simone II date back to the 1530s.

But let’s go back to the church. On the southern wall, you can admire a series of frescoes by Angelo Baschenis that tell the life of Christ. It is an example of a biblia pauperum, a Bible to be looked at like a comic book, to allow its understanding even by those who were unable to read.

Equally beautiful are the frescoes that narrate the life of San Vigilio in twenty-six episodes as well as the frescoes in the apse, the work of Simone II Baschenis, with a Christ blessing, surrounded by saints and blesseds.

Cemetery Church of Santo Stefano, Carisolo

Still in Val Rendena, we can visit another small mountain church, which is enriched by perfectly preserved frescoes.

Here too, on the external wall, you can admire a dance macabre and an allegory of the seven deadly sins, also by Simone II Baschenis. Below a beautiful series of paintings, they narrate the life of Saint Stephen.

What makes this church so special, however, is an interior fresco (by Simone II) depicting the legend of Charlemagne’s passage through Val Rendena in 774, accompanied by an army of over four thousand warriors. The sovereign’s goal was to reach Verona to defeat the Lombards, but the Emperor, during his long journey, managed to convert to Christianity the pagan people who inhabited the Trentino valleys.

It is a story halfway between legend and reality that still divides historians.

But there is another painting that catches one’s attention. It is a 1461 painting by Antonio Baschenis, which depicts the Last Supper on the side nave of the church. A particular detail strikes the observer. On the table, along with traditional dishes, there are many shrimp. A peculiar choice, though not at all random. We discuss it in the article on the Val di Non churches.