L'INTERNO - INSIDE

Let us now enter the church of St. James the Apostle and pause for a moment in the center of the space. As soon as you cross the threshold, you can immediately perceive the breadth of the interior, organized into three naves with an apse and dominated by a large central dome supported by four pillars, the true visual fulcrum of the church.

Around this nucleus develop the arms covered by barrel vaults with lunettes and small domed spaces, which give the whole a typically Baroque sense of balance, movement and solemnity.

The gaze is naturally guided towards the presbytery, where the great high altar stands.

The interior architecture is designed to accompany the eyes upwards: the tall pilasters, the marked frames and the rhythm of the vaults make the environment scenographic, but also very orderly and legible.

Moving towards the left wall, we come across the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, also recognizable by the stucco municipal coat of arms above it.

Here is one of the best-known works of the church: the panel with the Supper at Emmaus, painted in 1977 by the Ivrea painter Tullio Alemanni.

Also along this wall is a large canvas depicting Saint James interceding with the Madonna for the village of Rivarolo, a very significant image because it links the titular saint to the city community.

Turning now to the right aisle, one of the most striking elements is the gilded wooden statue of the Madonna and Child, the work of the sculptor Stefano Maria Clemente.

This image was originally located in a niche enriched by the fifteen panels of the mysteries of the Rosary, and still retains a very strong presence today, both from an artistic and devotional point of view.

In the same area it is worth raising your eyes towards the vault, where the large fresco of the Madonna and Child entrusting the crown of the Rosary to Saint Dominic de Guzman and Saint Catherine of Siena is preserved.