Pieve di San Secondo

Lonely and compact, the Romanesque church of San Secondo stands on the Hill of Last at Cortazzone, surrounded by vineyards and forests.

You can see after a turn to the left elbow, at the bottom of a vast grassy Esplanade, submitted almost with Majesty in the landscape, in the middle of a magnificent Crown of green hills, East-West oriented.

The building has a three-aisled basilical marked by an alternation of piers and columns surmounted by sculpted capitals on which you set the longitudinal arches arches, the whole thing culminates in the vaults of the ceiling. Dating back to the 12th century, keep as a treasure trove of decorations that are unique in the history of Romanesque architecture of Asti. In his sculptures is the summa of knowledge Medieval cosmology, imbued with Christian faith, reveals the harmony of creation.

In the elevated part of the nave there are three mullioned Windows, two are closed from the inside, with little stationery.

The apse area is rich with geometric elements in the Crown, especially that of the Central apse and dell’ SOUTH hand, with high decorative bands, the leaf sculptures of the capitals on semicolonnine and on the rectangular pilasters, the variety of brackets on which rest the hanging arches. Interesting sculptures in the intrados of abhar. These include a human figure in’ Act to cling to one of them.

The South side deserves special attention for its wealth of sculptural decoration, especially in the upper part of the nave with a high-end weaves, friezes, foliage and tendrils now stopped shooting now; and then figure, sculpted capitals, creases that Crown the three beautiful mullioned Windows.

The Interior is austere, three naves, divided into five spans by alternating columns and pillars, with sculpted capitals, on which you set the arches.

For the particular sculturea decoration, the capitals on the columns and pillars, deserve to be examined one by one, Although the symbolism of the subjects is not self-explanatory. The symbols could be alluding to vices and virtues and to induce the Pilgrim to stay within.