5 – CRESPIANO PARISH CHURCH (ENG)

On the road to Comano, the Crespiano Parish Church suddenly comes into view: the Taverone Valley narrows as it follows the winding course of the river of the same name. The building stands at the center of an ancient piviere, which, well over a thousand years ago, welcomed travelers and pilgrims.

In the sacristy, a stone with an inscription records that in 1079, the church underwent major restoration by a certain “Oto magister,” who was also responsible for constructing the bell tower. Additional renovations followed in the subsequent centuries, erasing much of the remarkable Romanesque architecture, though traces of it remain visible in elements of the façade and the church’s interior, such as the beautiful 10th-century stone baptismal font.

A papal bull from Pope Eugene III states that the church was dedicated to Saint Crispiano, most likely Saint Crispinian, a 3rd-century martyr, from whom the name of the pieve is believed to have originated.