Mongiana

The neat theory of neat and graceful little houses that greets the visitor arriving in Mongiana immediately makes it clear that one is in a special town whose distinctiveness is evident right from the urban layout.
As is well known, the heart of the town, nestled in the lush nature of the Serre plateau, is the arms factory commissioned by the Bourbons in the second half of the eighteenth century around which the town grew.
When you arrive in Mongiana you have to imagine that you are in some kind of large phalanster, or in one of those ideal factory towns imagined in the 1800s in which everything is built around the factory to meet the needs of the workers, from houses to schools to houses of worship.
The historic center of Mongiana undoubtedly represents the plastic realization of these ideals that found application, under the Bourbons, not only here but also in other industrial centers such as the nearby Ferdinandea or the spinning mill of San Leucio. The visit can only begin at the ruins of the old industrial complex where an interesting museum has recently been set up that allows visitors to learn about the history and activities of the arms factory. We will not dwell further on the ironworks as they are adequately covered in another chapter of this book.
In addition to the small houses intended for the workers, all of which are characterized by elegant granite portals and often splendid iron and cast-iron balconies, there are a number of interesting buildings propping up the settlement, originally built to house the officers of the army that garrisoned the factory (do not forget that this was an important element of the Kingdom’s war industry).

Absolutely worth a stop is the beautiful little church that stands in a central location in the town. The temple was built around the 1820s on a pre-existing wooden building, based on a design by the Military Engineers, as a chapel for the troops stationed in Mongiana. Upon entering the building, one is enraptured by the marvelous wooden statue of the titular figure, the B.V. delle Grazie, a masterpiece by Serrese sculptor Vincenzo Scrivo, made between the late 18th century and the early decades of the 19th century. The Virgin is portrayed in an absolutely original position, lying on the side of a cloud at the apex of which is the Child Jesus, while the veil that adorns her head seems to flutter blown by the wind, thus ensuring the whole a remarkable dynamism. However, the church houses another precious wooden sculpture depicting St. Joseph, also the work of another well-known Serrese sculptor, Raffaele Regio. In one of the arms of the transept is a painting depicting St. Ferdinand of Castile, a saint much revered in Spain, donated, according to tradition, by Ferdinand of Bourbon himself, who visited the steelworks in 1852.
Leaving the building, it will be difficult not to notice the splendid war memorial erected in the small square that opens opposite. On a granite plinth stands a bronze statue depicting Italy offering, in a pose that could be described as almost theatrical, a laurel wreath to its fallen soldiers. The statue is the work of the great sculptor Salvatore Pisani, born in Mongiana in 1859, who lived most of his life in Valtellina and whose important works are preserved in Milan’s monumental cemetery.
The statue was cast in 1923-’24 after the artist’s death, as a sign of the municipality’s tribute to its illustrious citizen, using the cast made in his time by Pisani in 1904 for the monument to the fallen soldiers for the Independence of Sondrio in Bertacchi Square.
The place’s important past cannot overshadow its natural beauty. In fact, in addition to the ironworks, Mongiana boasts the presence of many tourists, especially in the warm season, visiting the uberbuoyant botanical garden set up by the State Forestry Corps (now the Carabinieri Forestali) known as “Villa Vittoria.” Not far from here is the famous “little lake,” a beautiful picnic area built around an artificial reservoir that attracts thousands of visitors and campers escaping the coastal heat every summer.