Pieve di Sant'Andrea

The church was very beautiful and well-kept, there was a beautiful nativity scene.

Located in a picturesque square, away from the traffic of the center of the island, the church bears witness to a sacred area that goes back thousands of years. There was in fact a Roman building on which, according to tradition, S. Vigilio (bishop of Brescia) would have implanted a Christian temple (5th century). Between the eighth or ninth century AD became Pieve. Only in the 12th century was the majestic Romanesque bell tower inserted in the façade, at the base of which you enter the church. Interesting and singular is the presence, on the first floor of the bell tower, of an oratory with cells enriched by mullioned windows and niches. Looking at the facade you will see, on the right, a beautiful tombstone that belonged to Giacomo Oldofredi (1325). The interior is heavily remodeled and dates back to the first half of the 19th century, when the Brescian architect Rodolfo Vantini gave it a neoclassical appearance. The concert of eight bells (1863) was praised by Giuseppe Verdi. The interior has three naves and preserves notable works from different eras, attributed to artists from Brescia and not: Teosa (1758-1848), Voltolini (around 1619), Giacomo Colombo (18th century), friar G. Francesco in Prato Albuino (1617), a S. Michele Arcangelo by F. Hayez (1791-1882), a Preaching by S. Andrea by F. Inganni (1793-1873), and again by Loverini (1913), Castellini and others. The marble altars and furnishings are noteworthy. On entering on the right, note the marble frame with Maria "Salus Populi Iseani", coming from a monastery in Albano Laziale, which was donated by the Isean monk Father Paolo Bonardi. The urn with the relics of S. Vigilio is kept in the sumptuous third chapel of the left aisle. The whole area includes various religious buildings, which make up the monumental complex of S. Andrea. Once, in front of the parish church, there was a circular baptistery; today there is the eighteenth-century church of S. Giovanni (out of tune, in my opinion), which retains three Romanesque tiles on the façade which probably belonged to the ancient baptistery. In the 13th century the Episcopal Chapel was built, on the north side of the square, which is the church of San Silvestro.