The Church of St. Maria Assunta (once annexed to the structures of a castrum and for this reason also called “St. Maria in Castello”) dominates the entire village of Adro.

Until the 15th century, the church is part of the dependencies of the Parish of Erbusco, from which (during the 15th century) manages to emancipate. On the occasion of independence, the complex was restored in new and wider forms: from 1505 (date of laying of the first stone), what remains of the medieval castle was demolished and the church was rebuilt, which serves as a parish until the 17th century.

The interior of the church (consecrated in 1522) has the typical characteristics of the Lombard parish architecture, including a spacious room with arches-diaphragm from the sixth acute and crowned by a cover in wooden beams and terracotta tiles.

The presbytery (focal point of the sacred space) is dedicated to the owner of the church (the Virgin) and its earthly events: on the side walls, there are five panels on each side (including the Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, the Nativity and the Death of the Virgin), while the back wall houses the iconography of the Assumption and the Coronation of the Virgin.

The decoration of the basin is instead organized on two registers, according to the Renaissance iconographic tradition: the first register is inhabited by the figures of the Apostles, whose gaze is drawn upwards, where the prodigy of the Assumption and the Coronation by God (represented in Trinitarian form) is being performed; suspended on a curtain of clouds, Angels musicians surround the Virgin with colorful robes and holding different instruments.

On the sails of the vault, a second painter defines the figures of the four Evangelists, who seem to ride the clouds suspended in the sky while they are busy compiling the respective Gospels.

The sign of a high commission, which does not hesitate to make use of artists updated to Renaissance novelties, can be seen in the space of the nave: here the massive pedestals on which the arches are placed create the space for side chapels, which are quickly covered with devotional paintings; on the right wall, the third span is occupied by an imposing false polyptych, a real manifesto of Catholic orthodoxy that exceeds the wall in height stretching out over a portion of the ceiling.

Photos and translations by Franciacorta da Scoprire.