The Church of San Giorgio

Presented by specialists as one of the landmarks of Piacenza Romanesque architecture, the church is mentioned in two parchments, dated 1223 and 1284 respectively, which are kept in the parish archives.
Campi, referring to the year 1296, tells us that at that time, by papal will, it was subject to the parish church of Castell’Arquato. The church is characterised by a basilica layout with three naves, three semicircular apses and a quadrangular bell tower on the southernmost bay. The distance between the pillars is not regular, resulting in uneven spans, especially in the side aisles. The trussed roof, now restored, was replaced by cross vaults in the Renaissance period. Traces of this ceiling can still be seen in the two side aisles where the grooves of the nail arches are visible in the wall face and where the stone support corbels also stand out. In particular, in correspondence with the baptismal font, the frescoed plaster still present marks the nail arch.

Here, amidst eighteenth-century decorations – the date 1700 can be seen at the arch impost – the Latin inscription stands out: <> (He who is not reborn from water and through the Holy Spirit will not enter the kingdom of heaven). In what remains of the niche, however, one can still clearly see the dove of the Holy Spirit at the top and, on the left side, an angel holding a cloth in its hands. The baptisimal font, whose construction required breaching the corresponding section of the church façade, was probably built together with an elegant pronaos with three archways on the façade and two on the sides, and a cross-vaulted roof. In 1963, when the portico was demolished during the extensive restoration work, the external structures of the baptismal font were also demolished in order to restore the façade.