Church of the Madonna della Misericordia

DESCRIPTION:
This church dedicated to Mary dates back to the early eighteenth century. It has two unusual features: an octagonal floor plan and a dome topped with a slender, small lantern. The Church of the Madonna della Misericordia was built to protect and enhance the value of a fresco on the exterior of a dilapidated residence in Bormio. The sacred image, which was safeguarded and placed in the centre of the church’s small apse, depicts the Madonna Lactans and St. Joseph. The subject of the Virgin nursing the Christ Child is quite common in local churches. Construction began in 1705 and the church was consecrated by Bishop Olgiati while he was visiting Bormio in 1717 (as indicated in the long inscription on the interior wall of the façade). The building, with its octagonal floor plan, has an unusual layout for the region. The walls of the church are decorated with six large frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Mary, painted by the artist Johann Georg Telser from South Tyrol. Emigrants from Valfurva in Brescia also contributed to the expenses, as specified in the note that accompanies the fresco of the Presentation of Mary, which reads “Munificentia benefactorum Brixiae commorantium”. The paintings in the chancel, in contrast, are the works of Noale, a modest artist from Valfurva, who also painted the dome.