Church of the Alpini in Cornisella

Italiano

The small church of the Alpini in Cornisella is a votive chapel built at the behest of the local group of the Penne Nere (Black Feathers) of the ANA in memory of the Alpini and other soldiers of Pasturo who died or were lost in the Second World War. In two tombstones on the church wall are their names with a photo and the place of death. Cornisella is a small locality with a few huts on the Grignone, in Northern Grigna Regional Park, in an alpine setting at 1050 meters above sea level, easily reachable on foot with a mule track in about 45 minutes from the village and along an agro-forestry-pastoral road. The small shrine facing the road was inaugurated on Sunday 8 September 1957. The chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella is dedicated to Maria Regina Pacis, Mary Queen of Peace.

Position

The Alpini of Pasturo believed that on dear Grigna it was necessary to pay tribute to the comrades who disappeared in the war. The alpine environment between fertile meadows and the tombstones inside a small church are two elements that distinguish this small war memorial from the war memorials of the twentieth century. The latter are generally in the center of the country, with a space of separation from what is around, in the form of a real monument. Common elements are the soldiers identified one by one, with the name and a photo, in many there is the date of birth and death that are missing here, without relation to the bodies that are buried elsewhere, the Christian context, which helps to fill the void of death, the accessibility of place and its attendance. Indeed, in the war memorial of the First World War located in the center of the town in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the names of the fallen of the Second War were added.

The church of Cornisella is located along the most popular path of the mountain, not far from the village, the Pasturo - Alpe Cova road, and at the crossroads of numerous paths, where hikers pass. The intersection is now called the intersection of the chapel of the Alpini or of the church of the Alpini. Along the side wall of the little church, where there is a fountain, you reach the locality by following Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral, which here is about halfway along the route; from Pialeral it continues to the Brioschi Refuge. A road right in front of the church, concreted in the first meters to help cars climb for a very short distance, leads in the direction of Brunino, a place at the same altitude as Cornisella where there are huts and a mountain refuge, which is only a 15 minute walk away. Along that direction in a short time you go down towards the Church of the Sacred Heart of Balisio or to the right you go towards the Valle dei Grassi Lunghi and the Traversata Bassa.

In the Google Map the church is the Regina Pacis chapel,[^] in the map Regional Park of the Northern Grigna[^] next to the chapel symbol is Regina Pacis. In other maps available to me, including the online Openstreetmap, the religious building is not indicated or has no proper name.

The small church

The small church of the Alpini of Cornisella is made of stone, the interior space is small, there is only the altar, closed by a grate, as in a votive chapel. The sloping roof in white masonry protrudes out of the entrance for about two meters, supported by two walls; in the internal one on the left there are two tombstones with the names of Pasturo's fallen in the second war. The floor of the structure still advances by one meter, on an outermost corner stone there is the inscription year 2014. The entrance faces the street, in a southerly direction.[^][^]

The facade of the church is finished with frescoes. Above the door, on two lines there is the inscription Regina Pacis Ora Pro Nobis, surrounded in a semicircle by the design of a laurel. In front of the church left a drawing of Mary standing, then the wrought iron door in circles with a central cross. Above the door the inscription in two lines Regina Pacis Ora Pro Nobis and under the written a drawing of a bay, to the right a mountain with the signature of the painter P. Motta 1957. Pierino Motta of Introbio is the author of numerous frescoes in the churches of Valsassina, active between the end of the 1930s and the 1960s. The door is in black wrought iron, with empty circles with a cross in the center, on the side two boxes for offerings. On the sides of the entrance and under the tombstones there are vases of fresh flowers. Above the sloping roof, a cross and a bell tower, in the background the mountains of the Piani di Bobbio. Along the side wall facing downstream, near an artificial spring and along the path to Pasturo, at the top there is the inscription Chiesetta degli Alpini A.D. 1957.[^][^] The design of the church is by the architect Delino Manzoni.

In the left side wall of the covered facade there are the two gray marble tombstones that generated the religious building. One is entitled A perennial memory of the fallen and missing in the 1940-45 war, the other The "Penne Nere" of Pasturo conceived and built this small alpine church. The list of names is in the next paragraph.

Looking inside the empty door of the small church of the Alpini Regina Pacis, in front of the altar there is the helmet of an Alpine with a candle on it supported by a wrought iron structure. On the left, still four black marble tombstones, and a fifth in the central wall, copies of the external ones so that the names of Alpine troops who subsequently died would be next to those who fell in war, as a sign of solidarity and communion. In the center, behind a table that acts as an altar, a five-line plaque: This alpine church was inaugurated and blessed on 8 September 1957 by H.E. Mons. Arrigo Pintonello Military Ordinary Archbishop of Italy.[^] In the right corner, a faded photo of Pope Wojtyla with an Alpine hat on his head. On the right white wall, under a small window, "Anima sii come la montagna..." ("Soul be like the mountain...") and Antonia Pozzi,[^] the author of the verse of the poem entitled Esempi (Examples).[^]

On particular occasions, such as for the feast of the anniversary of the inauguration of the church, mass is celebrated, inside there is the necessary, the altar and the liturgical objects. The priest officiates in front of the door, while the faithful attend from outside. A few years ago, in the summer season, mass was held on Saturday evening.[^] The position of the votive chapel at the crossroads of paths offers every hiker the opportunity to stop in meditation, pray in memory of the Alpine troops, reflect on the absurdity and consequences of the war in front of Mary Queen of Peace, one of the intentions of who wanted and who designed this alpine church.

The names of the fallen

On the left side wall of the chapel of the Alpini in Cornisella, outside the entrance, two gray marble plaques placed side by side commemorate the Alpine troops of Pasturo who fell in the Second World War, listed with their name and the place of death in the next smaller line, Deceduto or Disperso (Deceased or Missing), and alongside a photo.[^]

A perenne ricordo
dei caduti e dei dispersi
nella Guerra 1940-45

(A perennial memory
of the fallen and the missing
in the 1940-45 War)

AGOSTONI CARISIO
Disperso in Russia

ARRIGONI TOMASO
Disperso in Russia

BARONI LORENZO
Disperso in Jugoslavia

BENEDETTI BRUNO
Disperso in Russia

BERGAMINI ANDREA
Disperso in Russia

BONFANTI GIOVANNI
Deceduto in Germania

DE DIONIGI CARLO
Disperso in Russia

DE DIONIGI GIACINTO
Disperso a Gorizia

GALBANI CARLO
Disperso in Russia

GALBANI MARTINO
Disperso in Russia

INVERNIZZI AMBROGIO
Deceduto a Creta

INVERNIZZI FRANCESCO
Disperso in Russia

MERLO CELSO
Deceduto a Pasturo

Le "Penne Nere" di Pasturo
idearono ed attuarono
quest'alpina chiesetta

(The "Penne Nere" of Pasturo
conceived and implemented
this small alpine church)

ORLANDI BRUNO
Disperso nel Mediterraneo

ORLANDI GIOVANNI
Disperso in Russia

ORLANDI RINALDO
Disperso in Germania

PIGAZZI PASQUALE
Disperso in Russia

PIGAZZI PIETRO
Disperso in Russia

PLATTI CALIMERO
Disperso in Albania

ROSA PIETRO
Deceduto a Ponte Emma

TICOZZELLI FRANCESCO
Disperso in Russia

TICOZZELLI POMPEO
Disperso in Russia

TICOZZI GIUSEPPE
Disperso in Russia

TICOZZI TOMASO
Disperso in Russia

DE DIONIGI BATTISTA
Caduto Civile

The inauguration

It must have been a day of great emotion and heartfelt participation for all the people of Pasturo on Sunday 8 September 1957, when the small church of the Alpine troops in Cornisella was inaugurated. Those were the times when, in addition to rebuilding Italy, it was thought of giving a place of memory for those who had lost their lives in war; in Pasturo of the three options, Rocca di Baiedo, Cornisella, Strada dei Castagneti, it won the locality in the direction of Alpe Cova and Pialeral. Some of those present had actually fought alongside comrades who had not returned or to war, there were family and friends.

On a splendid sunny day, an illustrious man of the clergy was present at the consecration, the military archbishop, Monsignor Arrigo Pintonello, while the parish priest of Pasturo was Don Tullio Vitali, not yet thirty years old. Representing the government was the Undersecretary of Defense, Honorable Virginio Bertinelli, for the Alpine troops the president of the ANA section of Lecco, Ugo Merlini, who years later, in 1965, would become national president of black feathers. The official speech was given by the lawyer Roberto Pozzi, father of the poet Antonia, former first citizen of Pasturo.[^] A plaque in the central wall of the church commemorates the 8 September 1957.
The chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella was born two years earlier than the votive temple in Pian delle Betulle, commissioned by the survivors of the Morbegno battalion after a vote made on the Greek-Albanian front in the war years 1941-1942, which will become the reference place of the celebrations of the second war for Valsassina.

The feast in Cornisella every second Sunday in September

Every second Sunday of September Pasturo gathers on the occasion of the anniversary of the inauguration of the alpine church of Cornisella wanted by the Penne Nere to pay homage to the fallen in the second war. It is a testimony of affection for loved ones and of Christian faith, which is present in the country as in the entire valley.

On Sunday 11 September 2016 I was there too, along with hundreds of people, perhaps a thousand, at the alpine chapel of Cornisella by architect Delino Manzoni consecrated in 1957. The commemoration was assisted by the beautiful weather, sunshine and summer temperatures. Many have climbed from the village on foot to about a thousand meters above sea level in the town on the Grignone, who could not by car. The ceremonial and the sincere participation of the people, of the place and some vacationers, of the Alpini, with their unmistakable headgear and green t-shirt, and of those holding a public office have honored the Alpine soldiers who fell in war.

A quarter of an hour before noon, the flag raising of the tricolor, to the notes of the hymn by Mameli played by the Pasturo band.[^] It is one of the best videos I have shot, I was in an optimal position, on the raised lawn in front of the church, next to the trail signs. Then silence, meditation as a sign of respect for the deposition of the laurel wreath by a group of Alpine troops on the internal wall of the chapel where there are two tombstones with the names of the fallen and missing in the Second World War.[^] At midday mass began, celebrated by Don Antonio Fazzini, the pastor of Pasturo, with the altar in front of the entrance to the little church of the Alpini Maria Regina Pacis. The priest was surrounded by two lines of Alpini between Italian flags and local groups of the National Alpini Association,[^] outside around the crossroads of the Alpini the people. After the Eucharistic celebration, those present moved from the votive chapel of Cornisella to the rough walled hut along the road, about fifty meters further down, where the refreshment was set up. At the checkout you took the lunch ticket. At a modest price you could eat polenta, salamelle, a slice of cake, drink water and red wine and continue the party going together.[^]

References

1. "Cappelletta Regina Pacis". Google Maps. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
2. Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale. Edizione 2014. Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
3. Mauro Vezzoli (6 August 2008- ). "Chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
4. Mauro Vezzoli. "Chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella". [Flickr album]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
5. Mauro Vezzoli (5 August 2014). "The two-line epigraph, Regina Pacis Ora Pro Nobis, surrounded by laurel and the two frescoes next to the entrance to the small church of the Alpine troops in Cornisella. On the left, Maria is standing on a rock, where two bunches of edelweiss sprout, in her hand she holds numerous black feathers. In the drawing on the right there is a rocky mountain with a glacier and the signature of the author P. Motta 1957. ". In Chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella, Cornisella, Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (24 August 2011). "Wanting to photograph where my long journey will continue, together with the fountain where I always quench my thirst coming from Pasturo, for the first time I document that the building at the intersection of paths and roads is the small church of the Alpine. In past years, I have called it Chapel of Alpini and the location was the crossroads of the Alpini.". In Cornisella. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
7. "Arrigo Pintonello". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. (in Italian). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (9 July 2014). "On the white wall, above a small window, on the right side inside the small church of the Alpini, a verse of the poet Antonia Pozzi, who spent her holidays in Pasturo in her parents' villa. "Soul be like the mountain...", one of Antonia's most famous verses, expresses torment and search for relief. The verse adapts to the suffering of the boys and men of Pasturo who died as Alpine troops in the Second World War, who rest in peace, commemorated in the small church on the Grignone built by the village's Penne Nere.". In Chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella, Cornisella, Escursioni sul Grignone, Escursioni sulle Grigne, Escursionismo in montagna, Escursionismo in Valsassina. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
9. "Esempi". PensieriParole. (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
10. (27 June 2015). "Pasturo: a luglio e agosto tornano le sante messe in Cornisella [Pasturo: in July and August the holy masses return in Cornisella]". Valsassina News. (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (24 August 2011). "The two dark gray tombstones on the side wall of the Cornisella church outside the entrance, where there is a fresco of Mary, queen of peace. The two tombstones have a title in gold and underneath a row with the names of the fallen, with the place of death or missing and alongside a photo. The first is entitled A perennial memory of the fallen and missing in the 1940-45 war, the second Pasturo's "Penne Nere" conceived and built this small alpine church. ". In Cornisella. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
12. Bonfanti, Aloisio. "Cornisella, cinquant'anni! [Cornisella, fifty years!]". Il Grinzone n. 19. Il Grinzone. (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
13. Mauro Vezzoli (11 September 2016). "The raising of the flag at the feast of the Alpini of Pasturo at the church of Cornisella, Sunday 11 September 2016. Before the mass and the alpine ration, the feast begins with this significant rite of honor, accompanied by the hymn of Mameli played by the Bruno Colombo musical corps of Pasturo. There is recollection and popular participation, villagers and holidaymakers passionately sing the words of the Italian anthem, the church, the priest, the Alpine with the military salute, the Italian flag that rises waving up to the zoom on it with the final applause. One of the best videos I've ever shot, rated 5 stars.". [YouTube video]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
14. Mauro Vezzoli (11 September 2016). "Deposition of the crown of the Alpine troops at the church in Cornisella, 11 September 2016, 84th feast of the Alpine group of Pasturo, year of foundation 1932. The Alpine church was inaugurated 59 years ago, 8 September 1957, in memory of Pasturo's soldiers who died for the Italy in the Second World War, 1940-1945.". In Cornisella. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
15. Mauro Vezzoli (11 September 2016). "Among the flags raised by the Alpine troops in Cornisella, the Eucharist celebrated by Don Antonio Fazzini. The sunny Sunday of September, 2nd of the month, the day of the annual party of the Pasturo Alpine Group, and the Samsung NX 3000 camera help me to leave beautiful images.". In Chiesetta degli Alpini di Cornisella, Cornisella. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
16. Redazione (15 September 2014). "Gli Alpini di Pasturo hanno fatto festa in Cornisella [The Pasturo Alpini celebrated in Cornisella]". LeccoToday. (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2022.