Chiesa di San Giacomo, Catholic church in Gromo, Italy

Chiesa di San Giacomo e San Vincenzo has no true facade: its four entrances are all on the sides, the main one facing south with a 16th-century portal in Ardesio marble bearing the Trigramma of Saint Bernardino, followed by eight steps down into the church. The interior has three naves separated by three large pointed masonry arches forming four bays; the central nave is higher with a two-slope wooden roof, while the lower side aisles have cross vaults with 17th-century stuccoes. The south bays rest on two large 14th-century columns, the north side on a single central column.

The church was first documented in 1184 in records of an investiture by Bishop Guala and developed over the following centuries. It was consecrated by Bishop Giovanni Barozzi in 1453, and various religious congregations added numerous chapels and altars throughout the subsequent years.

The church's full title joins two saints, James the Apostle and Vincent the Levite, as recorded in the 1184 parchment. In 1238 its gardens hosted the assembly of sixteen neighbours, including four notaries, who drew up Gromo's first statute. A 1666 report lists confraternities of the Suffrage, the Rosary, the Blessed Sacrament and the Disciplinati, each with its own altar.

The church stands in Bettuno Basso, away from Gromo's centre, on the old road linking the hamlets of Boario and Ripa. A riverside cobbled avenue leads to it. There is no true facade: all four entrances are on the sides, and the main south portal is followed by a staircase of eight steps down into the interior.

The church has no true facade: all four entrances are on the sides, and the main one, facing south, is a 16th-century portal in Ardesio marble with a monolithic lintel bearing the Trigramma of Saint Bernardino. Eight steps lead down from it into the nave. The portal's style recalls works by Mauro Codussi, such as the portals of the Arciprete palace in Bergamo and the church of Sedrina.