Restoration Reveals Brenzoni Family Emblems and 15th-Century Frescoes

It belonged to the Brenzoni family, a collateral branch of the Stella family, and the church is located in Biaza, a fraction above the town of Castelletto di Brenzone.

Property indications and restoration works

A suspicion that local historians had already harbored, but which has only recently been confirmed. A series of restoration works have begun inside the church to revamp the interior frescoes and strengthen the wall structure.

The confirmation of the church’s ownership is evidenced by the presence of the family’s coat of arms. “The Brenzoni del Leone family, that is the main branch, has a coat of arms featuring a rising lion and diagonal bars in gold and red, the colors that characterize it. These are also the colors of the Municipality,” says Signorini, the restorer in charge of the works.

“Within the church, there is another coat of arms which maintains the same colors as the family, gold and red, but with some variations. The diagonal bars become horizontal stripes, and the lion is replaced by three stars.”

History and frescoes of the church

Knowledge of the Brenzoni family’s presence in the town of the same name was already known, while information about the Stella branch was vague. “Analyses carried out on the only painted wall revealed the presence of two distinct layers of frescoes,” continues Erminio Signorini. “One dates back to the 14th century, while the style of the others suggests they are from the period between the late 1400s and early 1500s.”

These latter frescoes depict several figures kneeling before a Madonna. Beneath each figure are the given name and patronymic, that is, the father’s name. Standout is a figure known as Polo fu Delaldo, surrounded by family members.

“I didn’t know the coat of arms or the names of the figures, which intrigued me, so I tried to identify who they were. I was particularly interested in dating the painting precisely, which, based on the painting style, the clothing, and the background, seemed to be from the 16th century.”

Preservation and hypotheses about the church’s function

In the Verona library, there are dedicated volumes documenting coats of arms and genealogies of the main Verona families. Archival research established that the depicted figures are some members of the Stella branch, including Paolo with his wife Lorenza, their children, and some grandchildren, who lived around the late 1400s and early 1500s.

Additionally, in the church, there is a tomb, and some stuccoes suggest the presence of a coffin embedded within the wall. The building, more a chapel of the village than a true parish church, may have also served as the family tomb for certain members of the Brenzoni Stella family.