Mombasiglio - San Michele Le Masentine

Built in a scenic area around the year 1000 and remodeled several times over the centuries, the manor house served as a base for Napoleon’s troops, led by General Seurener, in 1796. In light of these events, the building—in addition to serving as the headquarters of the GAL Mongioie—houses the Bonaparte Museum, which boasts the largest collection of original prints and engravings by Giuseppe Pietro Bagetti depicting Napoleon’s First Italian Campaign, as well as the Museum of Local Marbles and Stones.

Probably built in the 11th century and demolished in 1923, the building is mentioned in the “Statutes of Mombasiglio” of 1331 and was listed (between the 13th and 14th centuries) among the possessions of the Abbey of San Dalmazzo di Pedona under the name “Sancti Andree de Montebaxilio.” Featuring a rectangular floor plan with a semicircular, vaulted apse and an altar separated from the choir, the church is now an interesting archaeological site open to tourists, scholars, and researchers.

Straddling the municipalities of Lesegno and Mombasiglio, the bridge is an imposing earthen structure (approximately five meters wide and thick) that connects the two banks of the Mongia Stream, which has truly shaped its appearance through a process of erosion that has likely lasted a million years. Considered one of the most important natural bridges in Europe, it attracts internationally renowned scholars and university researchers every year.

Built by the nobleman Giustino di Monteforte, who had it frescoed in 1403, as indicated by an inscription now no longer legible on the side of the altar, it is an isolated building consisting of an almost square room with an ogival cross vault, preceded by a portico of later date. A beautiful example of fifteenth-century painting, it preserves figures and colors similar to the more famous chapel of San Fiorenzo in Bastia Mondovì, testifying, perhaps, to the same artistic hand.