The Pieve of Saint Syrus (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: Pieve di San Siro) is a church in the village of

Cemmo Cemmo, (camunian dialect: ''Hèm'') is a ''frazione'' of Capo di Ponte, located right of river Oglio, beneath the Concarena. It was one of the first settlements in Val Camonica, as it can be deduced from the numerous rock drawings that have been f ...

, a

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

Capo di Ponte Capo di Ponte ( Camunian: ) is an Italian comune in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Located above sea level, Capo di Ponte (en. "Head of Bridge") owes its name to an ancient settlement to the west of a bridge over the River Ogl ...

(

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), at 410 meters above sea level. It was one of the '' pievi'', or isolated churches with baptistries, among which the territory of

Val Camonica Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the ...

was divided. The complex, which stands on a ridge overlooking the river

Oglio The Oglio (; Latin ''Ollius'', or ''Olius''; Lombard ''Òi''; Cremonese ''Ùi'') is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd pla ...

, can be reached via a staircase built in the 1930s. The foundation of the church in its present form probably dates to the end of the 11th century, although a fragment of a Roman inscription on a lancet window suggests that a Roman building was previously located on the site, and later converted into a house of Christian worship between the eighth and ninth centuries. In the crypt elements are present in pre-Romanesque capitals and columns. The bell-tower appears to be an addition of the fifteenth century. Following the visit to Val Camonica of

St. Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a lead ...

in 1580 some parts of the church were rebuilt, including the ceiling of the nave. Major works of restoration began in 1912 under the auspices of the state. Fragments of stone which had fallen from the portal were returned to place, the whole north wall of the choir was rebuilt and both the cross-vaulting of the

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s and the coffering of the nave were done away with. The walls of the crypt and its access stair were also rebuilt. In a later restoration the pavements of the nave and crypt were raised and remade using slabs of local stone. In the early 1990s structural works were undertaken to secure the building and its campanile. The structure has an east–west orientation, with three

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s, and a very elaborate entrance on the south side, carved with symbols and fantastic flowers. Inside, the sanctuary is elevated from the central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the two side aisles. Even in the crypt the subdivision in three

s is maintained. On the back wall to the west there are a number of steps that had to serve, according to tradition, catechumens. From these leads to a door that went into the sacristy and the bell tower. From this church comes the altarpiece of the ''Master Paroto'' stored at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, signed and dated 1447 (or 1444). The large baptismal font inside the church is probably formed from the basin of a Roman or early medieval wine press.‘Sulle orme dei camuni’
''Valcamonica: escursioni'', Banca Popolare di Sondrio. See the section headed ‘La Pieve di San Siro’.

References

External links

* *{{cite web , url =http://vallecamonica.lombardia.it/386/risorse-turistiche/pieve-di-san-siro-di-cemmo.html , title =''Pieve di San Siro di Cemmo'' on "www.vallecamonica.lombardia.it" , first =Luca , last =Giarelli , language =italian , accessdate =2010-03-23 Siro Siro Siro