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CURIOSITIES
AND LEGENDS
OF THE CHURCH (PIEVE) OF SAINT LAURENCE
The information in this document comes from learned visitors who have examined the church over the years.
POSITION:
The church is oriented east (apse) to west (entrance). This provides uniform illumination and heating throughout the year. From a religious viewpoint it indicates that the origin of Christianity is in the east (Jerusalem). The south is considered the side of life and the north is the side of death - originally the ossuary was placed in the north.The first curiosity, confirmed by more than 8000 visitors, is that people leaving the church almost always turn left towards the side of life or go straight ahead towards the sun. Almost nobody turns right - to the north - to the side of death. Try this yourself!!
PIEVE
(PARISH church):
The word “pieve” derives from the latin “plebs” (“plebe”= people). From this word also comes “pievano” or “piovano” to indicate the priest in charge of the parish. The surname “Piovano” or “Pievano” is still widespread.
AGE:
The church was dedicated to the veneration of Saint Laurence in 1180. Later he was chosen as the patron saint of Montiglio. The worship of Saint Laurence was introduced by Saint Massimino, bishop of Milan, in the year 1000. Saint Laurence was the first deacon martyr of the Church of Rome, whereas Saint Sebastian was the first one of the Eastern Church.
BUILDING
MATERIAL:
The church is constructed, in addition to the brickwork, from local (“cantone”) stone. There are many quarries in the area. It is incorrectly called tuff - a volcanic stone. When this local cantone stone is quarried it is soft and easy to work. Only afterwards does it harden in contact with the air.
ASPECT:
Originally the church had a central nave and two aisles. Over the centuries the truss ceiling collapsed. Around 1850 it was restored with a barrel ceiling, including some lateral semi-hexagonal cells for support. A pronaos was constructed externally (the colonnade was destroyed in 1953).
CAPITALS:
The capitals are in the Corinthian order and belong to the French School, They recall rustic, pagan and Christian themes.
THE
ENVIRONMENT:
The territory, mostly wild and wooded, was inhabited by a population whose origin was Celtic and pagan. The bishop of Piacenza sent his monks to bring Christianity to them and to teach agriculture. This is one of the reasons why the province of Asti is so rich in romanesque churches.
Now, let’s talk about some other curiosities. We will follow the points indicated on the church plan (please look overleaf).
ON
THE INSIDE
-
This is a tomb
stone dating back to
between 568
and 571, when the Longobards invaded Italy together with a group of Saxons.
The discovery is due to Professor Olimpio Musso, who explains it in this
way: “SASHSMAR (H)IC QUI(E)SI(T) IN (PACEM)”, that is “here Sashmar
lies in peace”. Sashmar is a typical Saxon surname.
-
The indentity of these
two persons is
open to several interpretations:
- they represent Adam and Eve after committing the original sin, wrapped
in the spirals of sin;
- they represent two woodland fauns;
- they represent two vineyard
workers treading grapes.
-
There are two
niches where the parish priest can
store the instruments of his ministry, and a little sink from which the
water he used to wash his hands in sign of purification during the holy
function flowed down.
-
The
two forked sirens, symbols of evil, show that women were considered a distraction to man from
the vision of Christ. The
interlacing of the little ribbon is interesting - ii show the figure of the “8”,
the symbol of the infinite. Today this is written horizontally in mathematics.
-
and
F. The
Manticora, Evil. These two animals, now
set
upon the
capitals,
were probably
originally on the façade of the
church.
They represent good (E) and evil (F)
- the lamb and the
“manticora”
- ancient Persian word meaning “eater of men”.
On the north side, upon the second mullioned window, we notice the
urophago
serpent eating its tail; a typical Celtic symbol meaning continuity. Imagine that they accepted payment of debts even after
death.
ON
THE OUTSIDE
-
In the upper part of the
apse, we notice some
faces worn by
time.
These are
monsters
put there to keep away evil spirits.
-
North
side,
the
side of death,
less
decorated
than the south side.
-
South
side,
the
side of life. In the
upper frieze, below the crossed arches, we can see some panels with many
simbols. All
of them give us useful information about the
direction to reach other parishes. We are not far away from the Francigena way.
-
To the christian , the
serpent symbolizes evil
-
the devil.
On the contrary, in the
east it symbolizes power, energy,
fecondity. On the head of the Egyptian
pharaon there was this symbol. Now, looking
the mullioned window from the outside, we can see the stylized head of the
cobra.
-
There is an other
interesting inscription
on the right side of the
façade.
It says: ”HIC E(ST) MONI” - this is a sepulchre.
The maintenance of the
parish priest was secured by a
tithe on the harvest offered during the Mass on Sundays.
Until some years ago, it was a local custom that in the church the left
side was reserved to women and the right for men.
The
men stayed outside
to discuss what tithe to offer
the priest. During the Offertory a woman
went out to inform the men that the moment to present their
decision had
come. This custom is repeated at Thanksgiving in November.
Today, during the Mass, men sometimes stay outside but they have forgotten the original
reason.
During recent repair
works, a new tombstone has been discovered. It says: ”ANIBAL CO(niux)“ and was laid down by a wife to her husband.
The tombstone dates back to
the sixth century AD. The original name must have been HANUBALD, a very arcaic
germanic one.
Finally, I offer a good
wish especially to all those named Laurence or Lawrence
who visit
this parish church.
Francesco
Ciravegna
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