Pieve di San Michele Cavana

The Parish Church of San Michele Cavana, dedicated to St. Peter, stands on a hill called “Cavo”, from which probably derives the name of the church itself and the surrounding area. Around 1480, the parish church saw several restorations works made necessary by the state of abandonment present in previous years.

Founded around 1111 by San Bernardo degli Uberti, the dedication to San Pietro remains. The first evidence of the presence of the parish church in the territory can be found in the document ”Capitulum seu Rotulus Decimarum” of the Diocese of Parma dating back to 1230. The parish church was definitively closed to worship in 1564.

Still recognizable inside the Abbey, unchanged in the plan, is the refectory with vaulted ceilings, although today it is used as a rustic and partly as a cellar, the chapter house and a burial cell. The external structure is made of sandstone ashlars and blue silica. The plan of the church has a Latin cross shape and a single nave closed by the apse.

The roof is trussed, illuminated by eight single lancet windows and two double lancet windows along the side walls, the transept and the apse. The narthex, space between the naves and the facade of the church, consists of two bays. The portal leading to the internal structure is surmounted by a lunette decorated with weaves and has a Greek cross in the center.