Concert in honor of Pellegrino Tibaldi and the rediscovered frescoes

Description

Sunday 10 May 2026, at 5:00 pm, the Church of San Vincenzo Martire of Claino with Osteno The church hosts a free choral concert dedicated to Pellegrino Tibaldi and the 16th-century fresco cycle brought to light within its walls. A meeting of music, art, and the identity of the Cerese area, in one of the most evocative locations on the Italian shore of the Lake Lugano.

The frescoes found

In 2023, restorer Eliana Tovagliaro, while working in the parish church's presbytery, removed a 20th-century curtain, revealing a long-hidden cycle dating to 1587. The scenes depict the martyrdom of Saint Vincent: the central cross with the figures of Mary and John, the two phases of the saint's torture, and a gallery of faces in which the caricatural vein of Leonardo's influence, typical of 16th-century Lombardy, resurfaces. The attribution was made by Andrea Spiriti, Professor of Modern Art History at the University of Insubria, and illustrated in the monograph published by APPACuVI. The restoration continues under the supervision of the Superintendency, with the contribution of the Lombardy Region and the CEI, and the project by architects Grossi and Cioni Mori.

Tibaldi, a son of Valsolda

Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527–1596) was a native of Valsolda, on the Italian shore of Lake Ceresio. An architect and painter among the protagonists of post-Michelangelo Mannerism, he worked in Bologna, Milan for Carlo Borromeo, and for over twenty years at the court of Philip II of Spain as a painter and royal architect. The Claino cycle is today the master's only organic intervention in the church, and it restores to his homeland a work that until recently was unknown.

The two choirs

Two complementary formations give voice to the day. Gently Choir from Appiano Gentile is a young group, founded on the desire to sing together, with a collective sound that intertwines classical harmonies and modern arrangements: Claino is the fifth stop on their journey through the beauties of the Lombardy region. In Laetitia Chorus of Arese, founded in 2006 and today composed of twenty female voices, offers a repertoire that ranges from Palestrina, Handel and Mendelssohn to Britten, Rutter, Metallica and U2, with performances at Palazzo Marino, Villa Arconati and collaborations with the principal instrumentalists of the Teatro alla Scala.

Conducted by Maestro Massimo Mazza

On the podium is Maestro Massimo Mazza (Rho, 1981), who graduated in percussion from the Verdi Conservatory of Milan and specializes in marimba and vibraphone. He has collaborated with the Mozart, Mahler Chamber, and Verdi Choirs in Milan under conductors such as Claudio Abbado and John Eliot Gardiner. A choral conductor since 1999, he currently leads In Laetitia Chorus, InControCanto di Vimercate, and the choir of the Liceo G. Pasta in Como, with which he has won a long series of first prizes in national and international competitions since 2018, culminating in recognition at the "Nuove voci per Guido" competition in Arezzo in April 2026.

Event card

Concert in honor of Pellegrino Tibaldi and the rediscovered frescoes — Sunday, May 10, 2026, 5:00 PM. Church of San Vincenzo Martire, Via Parrocchiale 9, Claino con Osteno (CO). Free admission. With the support of the Municipality of Claino con Osteno, Pro Loco Claino con Osteno, La Garibaldina (1844), and ASC.