As you descend
downwards from the Ceretto Pass towards Fivizzano, you suddenly come across the
Pieve of San Paolo, in the small hamlet of Vendaso. It is always open and silent. The simplicity
of this Romanesque church is striking; the walls are in bare stonework.
The
remarkable aspect of this building, is to be found with the wonderful column capitals,
characterized by flowers, spirals, daisies, concentric circles, wicker weaves, wolves,
lions and other animals, birds and enigmatic figures, including a couple of
twin tailed sirens. These carvings are eight hundred years old, and are part of
a visual language that the illiterate peasants who worshiped here, were able to
decipher easily.
The church,
mentioned for the first time in 1148 in a papal bull of Eugene III, is on the
ancient road starting from Reggio Emilia, which crossed the Ospedalicchio (
Ceretto) Pass before descending down to Roman port of Luni. A stretch of this
medieval road still exists above Sassalbo, and makes for a wonderful Autumn walk
amongst the chestnut trees.
The church
has been repeatedly the subject of reconstruction and restoration, necessary
after the devastating earthquakes of 1837 and 1920. The Baroque elements were removed,
in an attempt to make its architectural appearance as close as possible to the
original, dating back to the twelfth century. The bell tower was rebuilt after
the earthquake of 1920.
These
pictures were taken on three occasions, as trying to do photographic justice to
this building was not easy.
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
 |
| Pieve of San Paolo, in Vendaso, Fivizzano MS |
No comments:
Post a Comment