Chiesa di San Cristoforo
In the historic center of Vercelli there is what is known as the "Sistine Chapel" of the city: the church of San Cristoforo. The artistic and cultural significance of this church is due to the pictorial work of one of the major painters of Italian Renaissance art, Gaudenzio Ferrari, who worked there from 1529 to 1534. His incredible talent is already seen in the apse: the "Madonna of the Oranges", an absolute masterpiece: the so-called "oranges" that Ferrari Painting on the tree behind the Virgin are actually apples, in a specific variety of its land of origin, Valsesia. Finally, one of the two angels depicted holds a violin, probably the first pictorial representation of that instrument in history. Along the right transept opens the chapel of the Maddalena, where the episodes of Maria Maddalena's life, are inspired by the Golden Legend of Jacopo da Varagine; the composition has a great Crucifixion which is perhaps the most dramatic scene of the whole cycle of frescoes. In the left transept opens the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, centered on the life of the Virgin; among the various frescoed panels stands a majestic Assumption.
