Pieve of Massenzatica

It is difficult to trace the religious history of the parish of Massenzatica back to its origins, as it is not known precisely where the first place of worship was located. Nevertheless, historical documents confirm the presence of a religious figure at this site in 1156 who reported directly to the Abbot of Pomposa.

We do not know whether this religious figure worked in a place of worship or in an oratory set up in a private home.

The first evidence of a real church in Massenzatica appears only in 1266: all that remains of the ancient building are two Gothic-Romanesque arches at the front, joined to a semi-circular apse on which stands a beautiful Lombard-style bell tower with a perfect pyramidal spire. The apse was decorated with frescoes from the Ferrara school of the 15th-16th centuries, which were removed in 1970 by the Superintendency to protect them from the elements.