The church of San Rocco is the parish church of a quarter south of Como’s centre: it was built in the 16th century in place of a church dedicated to Saint Protasius and keeps the altarpiece of Saint Roch by the Recchi brothers. In front of the facade, in the square that now bears his name, Father Roberto Malgesini was killed on 15 September 2020.
History
The date changes with the source: Wikipedia gives 1535 and says the works were promoted by a confraternity devoted to Saint Roch; the Lombardia Beni Culturali record says only “before 1535”; UPEL speaks generically of the first half of the 16th century. According to UPEL the new building replaced a chapel of San Protaso, while for Wikipedia it was a church. The thermal window on the facade and the octagonal dome were built after 1885 (Wikipedia). For centuries the church depended on San Bartolomeo; in 1921 it became a parish church, and today the two parishes form a single pastoral community. In the central nave lies, by his own wish, Monsignor Alessandro Macchi, Bishop of Como from 1930 to 1947.
A little behind the church stands the former church of San Lazzaro, built between the end of the 12th and the start of the 13th century and modified towards the end of the 16th: it was deconsecrated in 1779 and converted to civil uses, and UPEL describes it as long abandoned.
What to see
The plan is a Latin cross, with a short transept covered by the octagonal dome; on the left rises the bell tower, with an elegant bell chamber and a copper roof. The facade is sober, with an architraved portal, the thermal window and an iron cross on top. The interior is wide and bright. The large altarpiece with Saint Roch stands out, the work of Giovanni Paolo Recchi with his brother, and in the presbytery is a carved wooden choir: the art historian Alberto Rovi cites it among the confraternity choirs comparable to that of Sant’Orsola. Inside the church a memorial is dedicated to Father Roberto Malgesini.
Largo don Roberto Malgesini
Father Roberto Malgesini, a priest of the diocese of Como working with homeless people, was killed on the morning of 15 September 2020 by one of the people he helped, in the square in front of the church. The city council decided in March 2021 to name the square after him. On 15 September 2021, a year later, the largo was named and at the spot of the attack a wrought-iron cross set in a Moltrasio stone, a gift of the Diocese, was placed (Radio Lombardia, La Regione). UPEL writes that the murder took place in September 2021, but the date reported by the press is 2020.
Practical information
- The church faces largo don Roberto Malgesini; the parish office is at via Regina Teodolinda 50.
- Mass times are published by the Diocese of Como in the parish’s listing; we found no other opening hours for the church.
- The parish of San Bartolomeo shares the same pastoral community with San Rocco.
Sources
- UPEL Italia, Chiesa di San Rocco, Q. San Rocco
- Lombardia Beni Culturali, Chiesa di S. Rocco, Como
- Diocesi di Como, Parrocchia S. Rocco
- Radio Lombardia, Como, oggi l’intitolazione di Largo don Roberto Malgesini (15/9/2021)
- La Regione, Largo don Roberto Malgesini, un anno dopo la sua morte
- Comunità Pastorale San Bartolomeo e San Rocco, Borgo Scalabrini
- Wikipedia, Chiesa di San Rocco (Como) entry.