These are frescoes dating back to 1424 and executed by Giacomo da Ivrea. The restoration and care of the church of San Grato and the surrounding area are part of a wider project to enhance the area of the Paraj Auta
PAVONE CANAVESE. The restoration works of the church of San Grato di Pavone and of the frescoes contained therein were inaugurated, the occasion for the event was that of the feast of the saint.
These are frescoes dating back to 1424 and executed by Giacomo da Ivrea. The restoration work was carried out by Studio Cinzia Avanzi. Avanzi is a renowned Romano Canavese restorer with twenty years of experience in restored works in the province of Biella, Vercelli, Turin and in many churches in the Canavese area. For the occasion, the religious function was celebrated by the parish priest Don Giuseppe Dorma, with the participation of numerous faithful and the municipal administration. The collaboration of the “Monte Bramoso” group that manages the church and takes care of the religious functions was fundamental for the event. The restoration and care of the church of San Grato and the surrounding area are part of a wider project to enhance the Paraj Auta area. The Paraj Auta is a modest elevation (reaches 354 meters high), which is located between the municipalities of Pavone Canavese and Ivrea. It is a promontory made up of four main reliefs (Brich San Grato, Brich Bonfurnera, Brich Appareglio and Monte della Banche) from which you can observe the morainic arch of Ivrea and part of the underlying Canavese plain. One of the hills is home to the church of San Grato, surrounded by greenery and vineyards can be reached comfortably by two paths. The first starts from the car park below and arrives at the medieval castle of Pavone, while the other arrives from the town center and climbs towards the “brich”, the hill, along the Via Crucis to the church.
As for the church, however, it is known that in 1585 there was a pilgrimage of the local community which, relying on San Grato, implored the cessation of the plague. The chapel and also the cult of San Grato, thaumaturge, in Pavone are very ancient and it is believed that they represent the work of evangelization of the Church towards the local population. Originally the single nave had two bays to which another was added in the seventeenth century, while the bell tower was built in the following century. The chapel was described in 1731 by the Curate of Pavone and it is indicated that, adjacent to the chapel, to the north-east, there is a house with four rooms and two “crotte” (cellars). This building was inhabited by the hermit who was entrusted with the care of the church and the cultivation of the vineyard and the adjacent woods. The façade of the church is Baroque plastered, the apse is externally rectangular, in exposed stone like the side walls. Inside there are the frescoes restored in 1424, the work of “Jacobus pictor civis Yporegie”, Giacomino da Ivrea with on the sides of the altar the figures of St. Peter with the key to Paradise and St. Andrew with the cross namesake (patrons of Pavone). The chapel of San Grato also preserves frescoes and paintings of a later period, of good workmanship. valerio grosso