Sant'Antonio Abate Parish Church, church building in Ticino, Switzerland

Sant'Antonio Abate Parish Church has a single nave with chapels along both long sides and a transept, its bays covered by barrel vaults on Corinthian pillars and the crossing topped by a dome. The 17th-century bell tower was raised several times in the 18th century and holds five electrified bells. The organ, built in 1872 by Adeodato Bossi-Urbani, keeps its severe neoclassical case and has 43 registers.

The church was built in the first half of the 14th century. Its present exterior was completed in 1664, the choir in 1682 and the nave in 1692. On 11 January 1863 a vault of one bay collapsed, killing 47 people inside; the rebuilding gave the church its neoclassical facade, modelled on San Vittore in Cannobio.

The church is dedicated to Saint Anthony Abbot and gives its name to the Piazza Sant'Antonio where it stands. Inside, the side chapels and walls hold paintings and frescoes by local masters of the 18th and 19th centuries, among them Antonio Felice Orelli, who painted the south transept chapel in 1742. The organ, built by Adeodato Bossi-Urbani in 1872, keeps its severe neoclassical case.

The church stands on Piazza Sant'Antonio in Locarno's old town, a short walk from the train station and the lakefront. The organ loft is on the counter-facade above the main entrance, so look back once inside to see the 1872 neoclassical case. The building is an active parish church; dress and behave accordingly during services.

The 1863 vault collapse killed 47 people inside the church; the rebuilding that followed gave the building its neoclassical facade, modelled on San Vittore in Cannobio. The pipe organ, built in 1872 by Adeodato Bossi-Urbani, keeps its severe neoclassical case and has 43 registers on two 61-note manuals and a 32-note concave-radial pedalboard.