Just in the last few hours the restoration work began on the Church of San Siro and Sepulcher in via Aselli. “We plan to redo the external plaster and external consolidation, both on the facade and on the external right side. – explains the parish priest Don Andrea Foglia – “It will be a conservative intervention. We will also work on drains and gutters. When the plaster is restored, it will be repainted light yellow, as indicated by the Superintendency. The church will be ready by the end of the summer.” commented the priest.
Some historians would date the foundation of the church to Queen Teodolinda, wife of the Lombard king Agilulf who conquered (and destroyed) part of the city in 603. The queen, of Catholic faith, encouraged the reconstruction of Cremona and favored the birth of new Basilicas. Among these is also the one dedicated to the patron saint of Pavia, the protobishop Siro, center and capital of the Lombard kingdom. Another theory would instead attribute its construction to the will of the Syrian Deacon, also the architect of a hospital dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre. Which is why in 1451, when this hospital was annexed to the Ospedale Maggiore, the second dedication was added to the church, thus becoming “San Siro e Sepolcro”. Over the centuries the church has undergone various reconstructions, up to its current conformation which dates back to 1614. Among the many works housed it is interesting to note the presence of a statue attributed to Bertesi dedicated to St. Eusebius. The saint, a Cremonese nobleman and pupil of Saint Jerome who lived in the 4th century, is the first testimony to the spread of Christianity in the city. According to some historians, however, some historians hypothesize that Giovanni Baldesio resided precisely near the current entrance of the church. He rose to fame in the second half of the 18th century, enough to convince the Dutch chemist Jan Ingeshouzs to study the bell tower for several months, after it remained unscathed by lightning that struck its tip. His notes on the prodigious bell tower and what may have prevented damage to the structure were sent to none other than Benjamin Franklin, fresh from the invention of the lightning rod (Read here). Franklin was exalted by the Cremonese church.
lb
