Pieve di Ramoscello

The first documented evidence of the Pieve di Ramoscello dates back to the bull of Pope Lucien II in 1144 in which the church, which belonged to the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist of Parma, is mentioned as “Ecclesiam S.Laurenti de Ramoscello”.

The church, which is located in the open countryside in an isolated position, has a tripartite façade with pilaster strips and a semicircular tympanum in the central part. The portal is surmounted by a curved window.

Externally, the fronts are covered with cement plaster and roofing in brick tiles.

The interior has a single-nave plan and two side chapels that exit from the perimeter of the hall, as well as the small chapel of the baptistery; the apse is semicircular.

During the bombardments of 1945 the church was damaged in the choir, the roof and the chapel of the Madonna.

Subsequently, the earthquake of 15 July 1971 seriously damaged the church and the rectory, which was demolished.

To the north is the bell tower; to the south the sacristy. The bell tower consists of three floors, beyond the belfry; the ground floor is illuminated by a window to the east, the first floor by two circular windows, the belfry is opened by a single lancet window on all four sides.

In 1977 the restoration works began, which included the reconstruction of the roof and the vault, the consolidation of the perimeter walls and the facade, as well as the reconstruction of the interior and exterior plaster.

During the works it was possible to ascertain the origin of the Romanesque bricks and the dating of the pilasters of the church, prior to the restoration in 1700.

Following the earthquake of 23 December 2008, the church was declared uninhabitable.

The church is dedicated to San Lorenzo.