On Thursday 23 May the art historian Marco Vallicelli will speak to the members of the Forlì Lions Club about the birth of the Parish Churches in Romagna starting from the late Middle Ages. A phenomenon that has involved our territory from both a religious and social point of view. In fact, parishes (from the Latin plebs, “people”) were and are places of Catholic worship, but this term also indicated a community and the territory over which jurisdiction was exercised. In the Early Middle Ages, the most important liturgical functions for the community were reserved for the Parishes since they were the only churches with a baptistery.
In the territory of the Municipality of Forlì there are the Parish Churches of Santa Maria a Pieveacquedotto (in the photo), San Martino a Barisano and San Martino in Strada and Santissimi Pietro e Paolo in Pievequinta. The latter is part of the Archdiocese of Ravenna, while the Parish Church of San Pietro in Trento falls within the Ravenna area but belongs to the Diocese of Forlì-Bertinoro. All the places mentioned still have an extraordinary historical, religious, cultural and architectural importance.
From 2018 to today, the art historian Marco Vallicelli, on behalf of the Antica Pieve Cultural Association, chaired by Claudio Guidi, has studied a total of 27 parishes and ancient churches in Romagna, also preparing an essay for each one (all the documentation has been published in specific volumes) and conducted as many guided visits to the same places of worship, managing to involve over three thousand people. To this high number of presences must be added the over two thousand people who, in around thirty visits, had the opportunity to get to know the Pieve di Pieveacquedotto.
Complimentary copies of the publications “Antiche Pievi. Walking around Romagna – Fifth and sixth parts”, edited by Marco Vallicelli, Marco Viroli and Gabriele Zelli, photos by Tiziana Catani and Dervis Castellucci.
