Santa Margherita Church, Romanesque church in Vernazza, Italy

Santa Margherita Church stands in Vernazza, in the province of La Spezia, on Via Ettore Vernazza. The Magistri Antelami rebuilt it on earlier foundations, and it is first documented in 1318. Its octagonal bell tower, 40 metres high, rests directly on the four pillars of the presbytery; the organ, by Tamburini of Crema, dates from 1975.

A Romanesque church may have stood here as early as the 11th or 12th century; the present building, rebuilt on those foundations by the Magistri Antelami, is first documented in a 1318 act. Between the 16th and 17th centuries it was enlarged, destroying the medieval facade, and in 1750 Baroque revetments covered the Romanesque interior. Restorations between 1964 and 1970 removed those layers.

Inside are two 17th-century canvases, a processional case and a wooden crucifix attributed to the Genoese sculptor Anton Maria Maragliano or his school. The parish belongs to the vicariate of the Riviera in the diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato. A two-manual organ with electric transmission was built by Tamburini of Crema in 1975.

The entrance on the square was cut into the apse area during 19th-century work, so you come in from the rear rather than the medieval facade. The church stands on Via Ettore Vernazza in Vernazza itself, a village on the Ligurian coast, not on a clifftop. The 40-metre octagonal bell tower rests on the four pillars of the presbytery.

The octagonal bell tower, 40 metres tall, stands directly on the four pillars of the presbytery rather than on its own foundations. It was raised in height during the 18th-century works, when the wooden roof was also replaced by vaults. The organ, with two manuals and electric transmission, was built by Tamburini of Crema in 1975.