Located in the countryside that runs along the Tanaro river, next to the small cemetery of Bastia Mondovì, the Chiesa di San Fiorenzo houses a unique painted masterpiece in the artistic panorama of the second half of the 1400s in Piedmont.

The original structure, dating to the 10th century, was a “martyrium”, that is, a small shrine that housed the tomb of San Fiorenzo martyr. Extended in the following century by adding a quadrangular construction with a cross vault, during the fifteenth century, this part became the presbytery of the definitive church, as it appears to us today, with the construction of the large rectangular hall.

The interior, completed in 1472 and probably commissioned by Count Bonifacio della Torre, offers a breathtaking view of its extraordinary cycle of frescoes, covering an area of over 300 square metres. The pictorial work has retained its original brilliant colours, from times when the humble local populations would learn about the contents of the holy books through the figurative images of these vivid representations, which constitute a real “ biblia pauperum ”. 

The images painted on the counter-facade include scenes from the life of the Virgin and the childhood of Jesus, while the stories of San Fiorenzo and Sant'Antonio Abate are represented on the other walls, as are the episodes of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. The most evocative part is the depiction of Hell and Heaven: the “Celestial Jerusalem”, a serene and orderly place to which those who have performed works of mercy on earth are assigned, contrasts with the chaotic vision of damnation, in which those who are tainted by the seven deadly sins end up in the jaws of Lucifer, then to be tortured by devils. The triumphal arch hosts other valuable representations of the Madonna, Saints, Evangelists and an intense crucifixion, painted on the walls and in the vault of the presbytery.