Italy - Levanto, Chiesa di Sant’Andrea

The year of construction of the Romanesque Chiesa di Sant’Andrea (Church of St. Andrew) is not exactly known. Certainly the church is mentioned several times in 13th-century documents, including one dated “1222”, the year of the hypothetical start of work on the building of the church.

On the other hand, it is certain, from the references on the façade and on the first pillar on the right, that the church was consecrated on 20 May 1463, after the new enlargement works which started in 1450. The slender columns of the nave pick up the decorative motif of alternating bands already, also present on the façade.

Its actual look is due to the restorations made between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. The façade is covered by a marble facing with alternating bands of white Carrara marble and green serpentinite, a decorative motif typical of Genoese Gothic architecture. The remarkable has a magnificent rose window.

The interior of the church offers several works of art, an 18th-century main altar and a red marble baptismal font.

We came across the Chiesa di Sant’Andrea during a city walk. We found it on a leaflet from the local tourist information office, although the route was not very clear at some points.