📍 Where it is located

The Church of San Matteo Apostolo is located in the area of Arigna Vecchia, in the upper Valle d’Arigna, a fraction of the municipality of Ponte in Valtellina (SO).
 It can be reached only on foot, via a path that starts from the Fontaniva area, following a route immersed in nature.

🏛️ An ancient mountain parish

The church is mentioned for the first time in 1589, during the pastoral visit of the Bishop of Como Feliciano Ninguarda, who describes it as an autonomous parish, equipped with:

• Baptistery
• Cemetery
• Permanent chaplain
• A residential core of about 55 families, all Catholic 

The village was one of the first settlements of the valley, considered the oldest center, with roots in the transorobic colonization from south to north.

📖 A piece of forgotten history

The Church of San Matteo was for centuries the religious reference point of the valley, until in 1886, it lost its role as a parish in favor of the oratory of SS. Carlo and Ignazio di Loyola in Fontaniva.

From that moment began a slow decline. By the end of the 19th century, it was already reported in poor condition. Its geographical isolation, combined with the progressive abandonment of the village, accelerated its degradation.

🧱 Architecture and visible remains

Built in a Latin cross shape, the church included:

• Attached sacristy
• Gabled facade with rectangular window
• A stone portal with the inscription “1651 B.M.F.F.” (Benefactors Matteo Fecero Fare)
• A pyramid-shaped spire bell tower, still standing today, topped by an iron cross 

Inside was a fresco representing the Triumph of San Matteo, now vanished.

🌄 A place now in ruin

Today only the following remains standing:

• Some perimeter walls
• A portion of the vaulted ceiling
• The bell tower, well visible in the valley

Abandonment and vegetation have transformed this building into a place filled with a melancholic atmosphere, where architectural decay merges with the landscape.

🧭 How to get there

• 🚗 By car: you can reach Fontaniva in Ponte in Valtellina
• 🚶‍♂️ On foot: from Fontaniva, the path to Arigna Vecchia starts (about 40–45 minutes on foot)
• 🥾 Hiking shoes recommended, the path is of medium difficulty and not equipped

ℹ️ Useful information

• 📍 Location: Arigna Vecchia – Ponte in Valtellina (SO)
• 🕒 Free access, not visitable inside
• 👣 Ideal for: hikers, lovers of forgotten places, photographers, and those seeking silence

The Church of San Matteo is now a ruin, but it continues to tell centuries of religious and social history of the valley. A fascinating place in its state of abandonment, which preserves traces of the devotion and the life of those who inhabited Arigna in distant times.