Star Madonna

This countryside church is located just over half a kilometer from the old village, open countryside until the 1960s. We do not know the exact year of construction, various dates have been proposed but do not agree: there are those who speak of 1474, those of 1476 and those of 1472, date written on the outer wall.
Inside there are valuable frescoes of the fifteenth century and, for this reason, the chapel is a national monument.
It rises at the highest point of Pianezza and in past it was probably well visible from afar. The place is particularly significant because it focuses on ancient pre-Roman cults, Roman testimonies, and Christian worship sites.
The current denomination of “Madonna della Stella” appears for the first time in 1660, in the report on the pastoral visit by Monsignor Giulio Cesare Bergera, before that the church was known as Madonna di Lessano and this denomination was used until the end of the nineteenth century.
The church, oriented east-west, has a single rectangular nave, at the end a presbytery of lower width than the church's body. The west facade is made up of a large ogival portal enclosed by a wooden wrap and flanked by two masonry and stone seats and is slightly elevated compared to the roof. A porch, supported by two pillars and leaning against the front of the building, with a roof at the same level as the roof of the church, served as a shelter for the faithful and pilgrims. The bell tower of the 1700s lies on the northern edge of the presbytery. The frescoes that can be discovered inside are a cycle dedicated to Mary's life, death and engagement, made in the 15th century; we do not know the author or the exact date of execution but undeniably affect the influence of the Jaquerana. It is possible to determine the commission of the frescoes by the Conti Provana’s family: on the arch of the presbytery, their family crest was brought to light by the restoration. Even the exterior walls are frescoed by the same master who painted the interior.
La Madonna della Stella is the Patroness of Pianezza and her celebration is on 12th of September.
The commune of Pianezza, the owner of the church, commissioned the restoration that began in 2013, carefully followed by the architect Maria Pia Dal Bianco. Two other restorations were carried out in 1995 and in 1997, from the architectural and pictorial point of view, frescoes of high artistic significance were brought back to the ancient splendor.
Situated on a branch of Via Francigena, it has become the destination of pilgrims to the Field of the Star (Compostella) where is the tomb of St. James the Apostle.