The parish of Spriana

Although geographically part of the Valmalenco, the community of Spriana has always belonged to the community of Montagna in Valtellina, as regards not only its politics and adminstration, but also its religion. The church, which was built there during the second half of the fifteenth century, dedicated to the Saints Gottardo and Donato, was a curacy of the parish church of San Giorgio in Montagna and was used by all the communities north of the Torrent Antognasco. Although these communities belonged to Montagna, they went on to gradually acquire increasingly separate civil and religious functions. The curacy of Spriana only separated from that of Montagna on 21 July 1624 with the establishment of the autonomous parish of San Gottardo, by the Bishop of Como, Desiderio Scaglia. The parish of Spriana continued to be part of the vicariate of Montagna until the 19th century, and then passed over to the vicariate of Sondrio.

The parish church of San Gottardo.

The church of the Madonna della Speranza, the oratory of San Antonio di Padova, built within the priest's house, and the church of San Giovanni Battista in the district of Marveggia, built around 1930 in place of a pre-existing votive chapel, all belong to the parish of Spriana.

The festival of the patron saint of Spriana has always been celebrated on the Sunday following the 4th May with a market selling a variety of goods.

Bibliography

  • Annibale Masa, Inventario dei toponimi valtellinesi e valchiavennaschi. 13 Territorio comunale di Spriana, Società Storica Valtellinese, Sondrio 1982
  • Saveria Masa, Fra curati cattolici e ministri riformati. Nicolò Rusca e il rinnovamento tridentino in Valmalenco, Sondrio 2011
  • Gian Antonio Paravicini, La pieve di Sondrio (edited by Tarcisio Salice), Società Storica Valtellinese Sondrio 1969
  • Lino Varischetti – Nando Cecini, La Valtellina negli atti della visita pastorale diocesana di F. Feliciano Ninguarda vescovo di Como annotati e pubblicati dal sac. dott. Santo Monti nel 1892, Sondrio 1963