Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant’Antonino

Building dating from the 9th–10th century

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This building dates from the 9th–10th century. It was dedicated to Saint Antoninus, who died a martyr in Piacenza in the 4th century. The church was one of the first religious buildings in the Bellinzona area. The Christian community of Sant’Antonino was the first to break away from the Parish of Bellinzona.

The primitive church was replaced during the Romanesque period. The 12th-century bell tower is a remnant of this. The pit dug in the floor for the casting of the bell dates from the 15th-century building. The current single-nave church is Baroque (16th–17th century). The building underwent further transformation in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Christ in Piety decorating the altar stone (circa 1450) has been attributed to Nicolao da Seregno. The altarpiece (circa 1750) depicts the Virgin Immaculate between saints Agatha and Antoninus. The Chapel of the Virgin is home to a wooden statue of the Madonna of the Rosary and an altar with a scagliola antependium. Thirty-eight coins attesting to the various periods of the building’s history have been found in the church.