SHARRYLAND
San Leo and its churches: in the footsteps of saints and religious people
A journey through the ancient parishes and churches of San Leo, pearl of the Valmarecchia
Where
What is it and where is San Leo
San Leo is an ancient village in the hills of Romagna. Overlooking the Valmarecchia there where Emilia Romagna becomes close to the small state of San Marino, Marche and Tuscany, it lies at the foot of the fortress that saw Cagliostro among its illustrious prisoners. Unlike other medieval villages, San Leo did not originate around the castle: its history is more tied to religiosity, as the name of the village itself suggests . To fully understand the strong spirituality that San Leo has experienced over the centuries, let us set out to discover the main churches of this little jewel of the Marecchia Valley.
Parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, the oldest in San Leo and Montefeltro
In the heart of San Leo, leaning against an outcrop of rock, is the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta: simple in the materials that compose it, sandstone, limestone and other stones, imposing in its basilican structure, with three naves, and as profound as the history it carries with it. This parish church, in fact, is the oldest in Montefeltro. The interior of the church is majestic even though time and poor past restorations have stripped the walls of the decorative covering they had: the bare walls now appear muffled in the dim light filtering in from outside. Below the church, a crypt and the Sacellum of St. Leo allow people to gather in prayer in an even more atmospheric setting. Small curiosity: the pieve has no doors that open into the facade, but only on the sides: this is because the facade is too close to the overhang to be accessible to the faithful.
The Cathedral of San Leo
Next to the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta is the cathedral of San Leo. This building also rises from the rock as if it were one with it. The cathedral is the center of the spiritual life of the village: in Romanesque style, it houses inside the lid of St. Leo's tomb and one of his relics. It is very nice when, walking inside it, in some places on the floor you catch a glimpse of architectural elements out of context: these are remains of the ancient high medieval building that existed here before the late 1100s, when it was replaced with the present one. We then move on to the crypt, where the link between the cathedral and the rock can also be appreciated by descending the staircase leading down, which seems to be carved out of the very sandstone of the mountain.
Convent of St. Igne
We saved it for last, but you may as well start here when you get to San Leo: the convent of Sant'Igne is located just outside the center of the village, along one of the roads leading to it. It is a Romanesque gem tucked away on the roadside that tells of the presence in San Leo of another very important figure in Christianity: St. Francis. The convent and its little church are dedicated to Saint Igne, formerly Santegna, or the light that showed the way to Francis. The church, chapter house and cloister are the strongest testimonies to the life of the Franciscans in this little corner of Montefeltro and the Marecchia Valley.
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