The first testimonies of the existence of the Pieve di Cabriolo date back to a document of the Bishop of Parma, dated 1230, the “Ratio Decimarum”, in which is mentioned the “ecclesia de Cabriolo in plebe burgi Sancti Donnini”. The facade has a typically hut shape with a simple entrance portal, surmounted by a small rectangular window.
The parish church is dedicated to Tommaso Becket (Thomas Becket), English archbishop of Canterbury, martyr in 1170 following the sentence inflicted by Henry II of England; tradition has it that the saint passed from Cabriolo in 1167 on his way to Rome and here he founded a chapel.
The present building stands on the site of the ancient chapel and two phases of construction can be seen: the area of the apse dates to the thirteenth century, while the facade and nave to the fifteenth century, as well as the base of the bell tower.
In the 1920s, remains of frescoes were brought to light on the left wall of the church, dating from the first half of the 1400s and depicting: the Trinity (three people alike), followed by St Michael the Archangel weighing souls, the Crucifixion, some saints and two patrons kneeling next to St John the Baptist. The iconography used for the Trinity is very rare in the West and is linked to the Templar tradition; in ancient times, in fact, the parish church was a Templar task and then passed to the Knights of Malta.
