San Secondo, Romanesque church in Magnano, Italy

San Secondo is a Romanesque church in Magnano with a projecting facade and walls of stone blocks and river cobbles laid in horizontal courses. Inside, three naves are divided by rectangular pillars with round arches, and the central and right naves end in apses of different sizes with splayed slit windows, lesenes and small hanging arches under the eaves.

An older, smaller single-nave church, probably founded by Benedictine monks, once stood here, with the hamlet of Magnano around it. In the first half of the 11th century it was raised and enlarged to roughly its present form. After the village moved uphill at the end of the 14th century, the church lost importance; in 1606 it was slated for demolition to reuse its stone, but devotees objected and Baroque additions were made instead. Restored to its Romanesque appearance from 1968 by the Province of Vercelli and the Piedmont Superintendency.

The only surviving artwork is a 13th- or 14th-century Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John, painted on the bell tower wall at the end of the right aisle. The church is dedicated to Saint Secondo, a martyr of the Theban Legion.

The church sits in an open clearing within Magnano municipality, near the Serra d'Ivrea area. The location is straightforward to reach and provides a quiet setting for your visit.

The bell tower displays different architectural styles across its levels, with lower sections showing arrow slits in compact form. Upper portions feature windows with three arches that stand out against the simpler lower design.