San Giacomo della Vittoria

The construction of the church recalls a glorious feat of arms, the victory brought to the gates of Alessandria on 25 July 1391, St. James day. The people of Alessandria and the Visconti troops, ordered by the commander of Verona Jacopo Dal Verme, defeated the French army led by John III of Armagnac who had attacked the city. The spoils were used, in part, to construct the church which was called della Vittoria (of the Victory). The primitive building had to have been terminated in the early 15th century. Rebuilt in 1500 and later renovated, through the centuries the church was used as a hospital and then as a storehouse; the annexed convent was used as a Carabinieri barracks and later passed to the Capuchin Fathers. Finally, the church and convent were assigned to the Servite Order. In 1869, there was the need for work to be carried out on the Church to restore the façade, and especially the roof threatened to collapse, so in 1871 Father Giuseppe Grassi, Chaplain of the Church, had the most urgent repair work carried out in those parts that threatened to collapse. The restoration work was completed on 28 October 1923. The façade is characterised by elements which recall the renaissance style, with the division into two horizontal bands, the upper one is open by a large rose window, topped by the tympanum. The interior presents itself as a single nave with barrel vault. The vault presents decorative fresco motifs and frames in gilded stucco work dating from the 1950s and 1960s. The devotional focus is the wooden statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, dating to 1700, magnificently inlaid and gilded. Worthy of note is what remains of the original 14th century fresco decoration: The Nursing Madonna of 1395 attributed to the painter from Lodi known as 'Maestro di Ada Negri'. The fragment, locked in a case, is found on the right perimeter wall and is completed by a pretend late 19th century curtain. The church is open every day, for celebrations and events, thanks to the SpazioIdea Association.