The church of San Pietro a Crepacore is one of the oldest in Italy. It dates back to the early Middle Ages and is located in the current municipality of Torre Santa Susanna, in the countryside known as “Crepacore”.
The building, with a square plan, was built between the 6th and 7th centuries, with irregularly cut carparo blocks, probably removed from the remains of a Roman village. This element gives the building a compact and massive appearance.
The facade of the building is characterised by a portal with a round arch supported by two columns; on the back there is a low apse, marked by two very simple pilasters and a mullioned window which allows for the lighting of the internal spaces.
The interior is composed of three naves delimited by columns with reused Hellenistic shafts, coming from Roman buildings, which support low round arches. The central nave is covered by two low domes placed in axis, supported by high drums. Small single-lancet windows are present in the upper parts of the walls of the area. The side naves are characterized by rough semi-rampant vaults.
The church stands on the remains of small houses with dry stone walls from the 2nd-3rd century BC.
On the internal walls there are valuable frescoes that scholars connect to two distinct cultural strands: Lombard-Beneventan art in the first bay and Byzantine art in the second bay and on the walls of the apse.
Along the lower edge of the latter, a dedicatory inscription in Greek was recently discovered: “This temple was built for the remission of the sins of the servant of God… and of his wife Veneria and their children. Amen”.
A necropolis has been brought to light around the church, which has been dated to the 7th century AD. This dating allows us to hypothesize that the church was first built in the same period.
Taralli all'Uvetta e Cipolla
Blonde Haiku
Hot Pepper Taralli
Leave a comment