Denice
The Church of San Lorenzo
The church of San Lorenzo di Denice, next to the 13th-century defensive tower, houses 15th- and 16th-century frescoes, an expression of the vibrant popular devotion and local cultural climate. Votive panels decorate the side wall and culminate in the apse, where a dramatic Crucifixion emerges.
Perched on a promontory to the left bank of the Bormida River, the town of Denice is characterized by a row of houses that seem to embrace the tall, slender 13th-century tower, the last remnant of the medieval defense system. The top of the tower, like that of nearby Roccaverano, is decorated with three rows of alternating blind arches in a motif known as “sawtooth,” while the original entrance features a pointed arch with an architrave. From its location, Denice dominates the Bormida Valley and follows the route of an ancient Roman road, where various artifacts have been discovered, including a funerary stele with three toga-wearing faces, now part of the decoration of some of the village’s facades.
A fiefdom of the Del Carretto family since at least the early 13th century, it passed briefly under the control of the Marquises of Saluzzo and finally became the territory of the Scarampi family until modern times. In the document ceding Denice to the municipality of Asti by Ottone del Carretto in 1209, it is listed as a “castrum et villa”: aside from the aforementioned tower, however, no monumental remains of the ancient fortified system remain today. A parish report from the late 18th century, however, describes the wall of the current church of San Lorenzo (which later became a parish church in the 16th century) positioned against the ruins of the castle.
The ancient Romanesque parish church is that of San Massimo, located, as was customary, outside the town and in an elevated position, but on the access road to the village. Abandoned in the early modern period, it later served as a cemetery chapel, which it still serves today. Meanwhile, the community began to gather in the castle church, located in the center of the village and later dedicated to San Lorenzo.
The Church of San Lorenzo
The church of San Lorenzo consists of a large rectangular barrel-vaulted hall and has undergone numerous renovations over the centuries, making it difficult to identify the original structure from the exterior. Until the last decade, several layers of plaster concealed precious fragments of late Gothic painting, which began to emerge in 2010. The “spicchiettature” (flecks of plaster) are clearly visible, evidence of an attempt to mechanically overlay the later paintings. This covering intervention may date back to 1577, when, on the bishop’s orders, the church was whitewashed and restored to conform to the Tridentine regulations, with work also carried out on the floor and ceiling.
A careful inspection reveals the presence of various pictorial cycles, created by different masters and their collaborators, over a relatively short period, between the 15th century and the first decades of the 16th century. These cycles represent commissions both from noble families and those linked to popular devotion. Despite the complexity and diversity of the artists, mostly local and working in the surrounding areas and other properties in the Bormida Gotica (Gothic Bormida) area, a harmonious decorative coherence is evident. Although some parts are missing, the placement of these devotional testimonies allows us to imagine what the entire church would have looked like, fully embellished.
Just past the entrance, on the right wall, there is a devotional panel depicting Saint Agatha, depicted with a tray in her right hand containing her severed breasts, a symbol of her martyrdom. The elegant rendering of the hair, the delicacy of the features, and the decorated background suggest the work of a local painter (Master of Levice?), active between the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
On the opposite wall, the one to the left as you enter, there is a series of votive panels. Clockwise, the first panel depicts Saint Apollonia, holding a pair of pincers and a tooth, next to Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia), recognizable by her eyes on the tray. These figures, dating to the late 15th century, seem to express a common devotional intention and could be attributed to a certain Manuele Cova (or Eova), as suggested by the partially legible inscription running above the frame. The panel is attributable to the so-called Master of Roccaverano, or at least to a circle close to him, based on a series of recurring formal elements: the rendering of the halos, the color palette, and the facial features, all of which can be traced back to the local figurative culture of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. This is followed by a Saint Catherine of Alexandria, of which only the cogwheel inside which the torturer is depicted remains. Next to it is a fragment of painting, identifiable as a Madonna enthroned with Child, accompanied by a partially illegible Gothic inscription. Continuing clockwise, we encounter a refined Saint Catherine of Alexandria, rendered with a courtly naturalism and elegant calligraphy that reveal the hand of a cultured artist. In the background, a fox fleeing through the woods and a hazy sky are depicted.
Nearby, the lower fragments of two miracle-working saints particularly dear to popular devotion remain: Saint Anthony the Abbot, identifiable by the presence of a black pig, and Saint Sebastian, only whose feet are visible. A fragment depicting a Madonna and Child, placed before a floral-decorated drape of honor, continues the narrative, which concludes, on the corner pillar leading to the apse, with a full-length bust of Mary Magdalene.
The apse wall features a mournful Crucifixion, set in a walled city and described in its urban plan, with Saint John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary grieving and weeping on either side.
The right lunette depicts the open tomb and an abandoned quiver. The left lunette, however, accurately depicts the instruments of Christ’s Passion: the cross, the ladder used to depose the body, the water jug, the sponge soaked in vinegar, the dice with which the archers cast lots for Christ’s tunic, the nails, the hammer, and the spear that pierced Christ’s side. The modern opening of a window in the side wall of the apse has obscured the interpretation of what appeared to be a lush garden with fruit trees.