Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo of Valtellina (Maz, in valtellinese dialect) is located on the slopes of the Mortirolo pass, in the province of Sondrio, in the mid-upper Valtellina. It is one of the richest villages in history and art of the whole Valtellina. During the period of fight between the Papacy and the Empire, between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, in these lands dominated the Lordship of the Venosta under the name of Matsch, from which the name of Mazzo would derive.

The area of the village of Mazzo affects the two sides of the Valtellina, the southern one signals the Mortirolo pass – which forms the border with the province of Brescia – while the western side signals the Schiazzera pass, bordering Switzerland.The village of Mazzo, like few other inhabited areas of Valtellina, is a place where art, medieval history and the Renaissance combine. In fact, it presents itself as a real time capsule to be opened, rich in medieval architectural works to be discovered, such as the Romanesque baptistery, the gothic bell tower of the Parish Church, the fortified Contrada of Pedenale and Bellaguardia’s Castle. However, there are innumerable works of the sixteenth century, such as the Casa Lavizzari, belonging to the Venosta’s family of Match, with sixteenth-century graffiti and baroque ornaments, the Church of Sant’Abbondio a Vione and the Church of Saints Matteo and Filippo Neri designed by Lugano workers and founded in 1667.