The Church of San Remigio is one of the most significant examples of Romanesque architecture in the local area. It conserves a wealth of history: from the Roman finds of funerary epigraphs to papal documents that cite evidence of the chapel as early as 1132, the sixteenth-century works carried out by the hermit Gerolamo Appiani and the recent restorations that suitably illuminate the thousand-year-old frescoes.

If that weren't enough, there is the charm of the location, the Castagnola promontory overlooking the lake, separating the Borromeo Gulf from the Upper Verbano area. It was once a dwelling for hermits or lookout guards who could scan the horizon from the mouth of the Toce river up to Stresa or the Lombard shore, today it is an idyllic countryside area with splendid villas and gardens.

The Church of San Remigio was constructed in three phases between the tenth and twelfth centuries, it was probably the chapel of a nearby castle (of which no traces remain) and of the original curtis of Pallanza. The dedication to San Remigio, to whom the Franks were devoted, suggests a fortress from as far back as the Carolingian era.

Over the centuries, its original structure with two naves of different dimensions, ending with two semi-circular apses, has undergone some extensions such as those of the sacristy and the portico in front of the entrance, carried out by Appiani in the sixteenth century.

Significant restoration works also took place during the twentieth century, subsequent to it being declared a national monument in 1908. The latest phase, in 1975, brought to light some finds from the Roman era and fragments of late medieval capitals.

Visitors to the interior of the Church of San Remigio can admire well-preserved frescoes from different eras, ranging from the sixteenth-century Madonnas to the most ancient which is dated shortly after the year 1000 and is located in the minor apse.

A blessing Christ is depicted above a kneeling figure - probably the patron, perhaps a member of the family of the Counts of Pombia - between the Archangel Gabriel and the Archangel Michael.

Arriving at the main apse, two frescoed borders can be seen, one with Christ and the twelve apostles, the other, of different workmanship, with the cycle of the months of the year, possibly from the XIII century and attributable to the workshop of the Maestro d' Angera.

The church of San Remigio, also known as the Oratory, is normally closed.

If you wish to visit it, please contact Ufficio Informazioni e Accoglienza Turistica di Verbania (Tourist Information Office).