Church of S. Erasmo Vescovo Martire

Subsidiary of the parish of Santa Grata Inter Vites, the small Church of S. Erasmo can be considered one of the most fascinating in Bergamo.

Right from the facade, mostly in irregular stone, it is striking for its ancient and bare appearance. The entrance portal is rectangular, flanked by two small windows and surmounted by a fresco depicting the saint and the Virgin, which in turn is below a large window. On the wall, you can still clearly see the round arches of three historic entrances, later walled up.

The church also shows simplicity from an architectural point of view: it has a rectangular plan with a single nave, covered by a very low vault. Inside you can admire a neoclassical altar, a painted wooden choir, remains of fifteenth-century frescoes but, above all, a series of early nineteenth-century canvases depicting episodes from the life of the saint, in stucco frames. The pilasters and other decorative squares are in imitation marble. Finally, on the ceiling of the vault, 19th-century frescoes simulate the presence of a dome through a trompe-l'oeil effect.

A small square bell tower, located to the north-east, and a sacristy are also part of the building. Under the church there are also underground chambers, on the side of Vicolo S. Erasmo.

Among the particularities of this church, the sword in the left window must certainly be mentioned. Here, tucked into an opening and attached to a chain, is a short metal sword that can be easily pulled out. A warning? Some sort of Sword in the Stone?

None of this! In reality it was used - and still is today - for almsgiving. The opening from which it is extracted is dedicated to offerings: the faithful drop coins into the opening and then make sure that they have fallen into the box using the sword.

Perhaps not as glamorous as a legendary sword, but no less picturesque.

Tra le particolarità di questa chiesa va sicuramente ricordato lo spadino della finestrella sinistra. Qui, infilato in una fessura e fissato a una catenella, c’è una corta spada di metallo che si può facilmente estrarre. Un avvertimento? Una sorta di Spada nella Roccia?
Niente di tutto questo! In realtà serviva - e serve ancora oggi - per le elemosine. La fessura da cui viene estratto è dedicata alle offerte: i fedeli lasciano cadere le monete nella fessura e poi si assicurano che siano cadute nella cassetta servendosi dello spadino.
Forse non glamour come una spada leggendaria, ma non per questo meno pittoresco.