In the heart of the village of Moerna is the church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo (St Bartholomew the Apostle), dating back to the 15th century. Situated high above the village centre, the church dominates the area with its churchyard at the side.

Images: Cheleo Multimedia

The façade features a rectangular pronaos accessible only from the side, while the gabled front is embellished with a central rectangular portal and window.

The oldest works include a 15th-century Marian fresco, depicting a Byzantine-inspired “Madonna and Child”, located at the entrance of the rectory. Later, in the 16th century, the church was decorated with further frescoes, including the coat of arms of the Counts of Lodrone, former rulers of the area.

In the 17th century, a side altar was built in cornu epistolae, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, the wooden statue of whom on the altar dates back to the 17th century.

The curacy of Moerna was built on 24 June, 1728, and, as Don Fermo Amistadi reported on 6 June, 1952, it had 25 curates during this time: of these, 12 were from Valvestino, 3 from Brescia, 10 from the Giudicarie area more broadly, and 1 from Valsugana. In Moerna, as in Armo, the registry starts from 1729 and the vital records from 1910.

The church underwent a complete reconstruction in 1780 based on a design by Ambrogio Pancera di Lugano, with new decorative elements added towards the end of the 18th century. On 30 August, 1867, it was consecrated by the Prince-Bishop of Trento, Benedetto Riccabona.

Over time, the church has undergone numerous restoration and decoration interventions: in 1907, it was restored, while in 1947, the Trentino painters Bruno Colorio and Mario Bertoldi embellished it with new decorative works. In 1964, it was elevated to a parish church and, between 1971 and 1979, changes were made to the high altar, which was relocated to its original position while keeping a wooden altar table. The last restoration of the decorative elements dates back to 2013.

The interior of the church, with a single nave, is entirely plastered and decorated, with side altars and frescoed, rib-vaulted ceilings. The raised quadrangular presbytery ends with a flat apse where the main altarpiece representing the patron saint San Bartolomeo (St Bartholomew), San Rocco (St Roch), and the Blessed Virgin Mary is located. According to the botanist Don Pietro Porta and other competent people, the latter was painted after the other figures. Adjacent to the presbytery are the service rooms, the sacristy and the bell tower, built of mixed stone and brick masonry.

The feast of “Our Lady of the Rosary” is celebrated on the first Sunday of October, with an evocative procession bearing the statue of the Virgin along the village streets.