Pieve di Castrignano

The Pieve di Castrignano is dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta and is one of the oldest churches in the Diocese of Parma. The first historical information about the fortified village (“Castrum”) dates to about 982: probably the parish church must have been in a different location from the current one where it was rebuilt after going into ruins. The present church was built in 1667 in baroque style.

On the outside, it has a gabled facade, ending with a triangular tympanum, and a tripartite surface vertically by means of twin semi-columns with spherocubic capitals in the lower part and pilasters coupled in the upper part. Horizontally, the space is defined by two stringcourse cornices and a low base. The interior of the parish church is divided into three naves, bounded by columns supporting round arches and spherocubic capitals. The left aisle has two side chapels, while the right aisle has only one.

The apse has a semicircular shape and is covered by a hemispherical cap in which a neo-Byzantine style fresco of Jesus Christ is placed. On the triumphal arch we see the representation of two angels adoring a cross. The barrel vault of the central nave is painted like a starry sky, while the vaults of the aisles are painted in hazelnut tones.

Not far from the entrance door to the churchyard, a stone pillar shows the face of the Madonna and some saints on the four sides. Each side is oriented towards a precise cardinal point. The pillar symbolizes ancient traditions and ancestral rites once very common in the countryside: the rogations. These rites consisted of processions and litanies that took place in the spring, aimed at invoking divine protection so that the countryside would be fertile and harvests prosperous.

Inside there is a holy water stoup resting on a capital decorated with leaves and vine shoots, probably dating back to 1400 and coming from the old castle, whose ruins can be seen at the side of the door with three arches that gives access to the churchyard.