Chiesa dei Santi Fermo e Rustico

The church dedicated to Saints Fermo and Rustico in Mezzane di Sopra was presumably built in the course of the 14th century as a chapel subordinate to the Parish of S. Maria Assunta in Mezzane di Sotto.

Raised to Parish status in 1488, it was enlarged in 1770 and further expanded between 1924 and 1925.

The church features a rectangular single-nave design, with a square-shaped presbytery raised by two steps and of reduced width, ending with a semicircular apse. Two emerging semi-chapels open along the sides of the nave, one on each side facing each other, housing the altar of the Blessed Virgin on the northern side and the altar of the Madonna del Rosario (with S. Sebastiano and S. Antonio) on the opposite side. The presbytery opens on both sides to two smaller halls for the faithful, collectively defining an overall floor plan of the church in the Latin cross shape, with the central crossing coinciding with the presbytery.

The gabled façade, which is quite simple overall, features a white plaster finish. In the center, there is a local limestone entrance portal, while above it, a rectangular window and a small circular oculus illuminate the interior of the building.

Regarding the vaulted structures, the nave is covered by a lowered barrel vault, marked by smooth transverse ribs with polychrome tempera decorations creating a false coffered ceiling. The presbytery chamber is topped by a vault and a crossing decorated with polychrome tempera frames; at the center of the four sails are painted the four Evangelists. The decoration of the spherical semi-dome of the apse basin reproduces a shell valve.

The interior space of the church, characterized by a sober and balanced architectural-spatial and decorative composition, features façades rhythmically adorned with slender pilasters that extend to join the moulded upper cornice. The side chapels with altars are framed by semi-circular arches incorporating a moulded order; the presbytery opens on both sides to smaller halls through a double-arched opening with a central column made of red Verona marble. The walls are plastered and painted.

Inside, there are significant painted works, including the “Martyrdom of Saints Fermo and Rustico” (A. Ugolini), “The Holy Martyrs Catherine, Margaret, and Lucy” (P. Farinati), and “Saint Anne with the Blessed Virgin and the Child” (M. Prunati).

The bell tower is attached to the northern side of the presbytery. It is characterized by a square-shaped base, a shaft constructed with a mixture of stones, and angular structures made of squared blocks of pink limestone. The bell chamber, entirely built with squared blocks of limestone, is topped with a brick onion dome set on an octagonal drum.