Assunzione di Maria Vergine

15050 Pozzol Groppo (AL)
frazione Biagasco
Tel. +39 (0131) 800.103
http://www.diocesitortona.it

The church, clearly of early medieval design and oriented with its apse to the east, presents itself as a compact volume of stone masonry against which the bell tower rises.
The interior features a liturgical space with three naves, each four bays long: the first three correspond to the length of the side aisles, while the last is a sort of short transept. The space is dominated by the Tridentine altar at the end of the presbytery, behind which is a wooden choir.
The presbytery has a square plan and is separated from the main hall by a balustrade; furthermore, its floor is raised one step above that of the main hall. The spaces are covered with a barrel vault with lunettes in the central nave, with false windows in the lunettes, and a cross vault in the side aisles. The central and side naves are separated by pillars with round arches.
All the walls and vaults are plastered and painted with a pictorial decorative scheme featuring squares, geometric, and floral motifs, except in the presbytery, where the figure of Christ is at the center of the vault, flanked by medallions of Saints Peter and Paul.
The marble baptismal font is located within its own enclosure on the counterfaçade. In the side aisles, in the third bay, there are two side altars: the one on the left is dedicated to Saint Fermo, and above the tabernacle is a 17th-century canvas of the saint; the one on the right is dedicated to the Madonna Assunta, and above the tabernacle is a canvas dating back to the first quarter of the 15th century depicting the Madonna and Child, Saint Teresa, another saint, and the mysteries of the rosary (recently restored). In the central bays, the aisles have two niches containing, on the left, a wooden statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and on the right, a statue of Saint Charles. Leaning against the right pillar between the aisles and the transept is the wooden pulpit. The beautiful wooden statue of the Assumption of Mary (Genoese school) is housed in a special shrine to the right of the presbytery. Leaning against the first pillar as you enter are two statues of Saint Joseph with the Child and Saint Anthony the Abbot. The marble holy water font near the counterfaçade is beautiful. Finally, in the side aisles are two confessionals. On either side of the small transept are the doors leading to the bell tower and the rectory. The church is in good condition, with the exception of significant cracks in the left wall of the transept, flaking in the vaults of the presbytery and above the pulpit, presumably due to leaks that are no longer present, and problems with the paint and plaster disintegrating due to rising damp at the base of some of the pillars and walls.