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Church of Saints Peter and Paul (chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo)

Address Piazza Castello, 14033 Castell'Alfero AT, Italia

Highlights

The parish church of Castell'Alfero.

Its bell tower was built in the mid-18th century.

From the report of the first pastoral visit made by the bishop of Asti Monsignor Domenico Della Rovere in 1570, it is noted that the Bishop with his entourage was accompanied to the Church of Santa Maria dell'Assunta, located within the town in the enclosure of the castle where the parish functions took place, not only because the two parishes were distant from the concentric and therefore uncomfortable, but also because they were in bad conditions; one had the altar half destroyed and the other threatened ruin.

The Bishop ordered that they be repaired, perhaps using the material of the old bell tower of the Church of St. Peter of Cassano which had been demolished because it was unsafe; he also established that the fruits of the two benefits were seized until the restorations were completed, at the expense of which the community also had to contribute.

In 1578, the two parishes were grouped in the Vicariate of Castagnole Monferrato after the synod of that year.

In the pastoral visit of Monsignor Angelo Peruzio, apostolic delegate, in 1585, the two Churches were found in the same sad conditions; no more celebrations were held in them, and they were kept closed.

The visit of the Bishop of Asti Monsignor Francesco Panigarola in 1588 found the situation unchanged and given the poor state of the Church of St. Peter of Lissano established that, if it was not possible to restore it, it should be demolished, replacing it with a chapel under the same title.

In the pastoral visit of 1619, the bishop of Asti Monsignor Isidoro Pentorio still found the two churches still in a bad state. The parish priest of St. Peter of Lissano was Don Bernardo Forno.

In 1627, Monsignor Ottavio Broglia found that while the Church of St. Peter of Cassano had meanwhile been refurbished, the other was still falling down and ruinous; the bishop repeated the order to demolish it, replacing it with a Chapel, what was done a few years later.

After the request of the archpriest Don Giovanni Tommaso De Rolandis on March 13, 1706, the two parishes were united into one under the title St. Peter of Cassano and Lissano, and the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption was its seat; the new parish had 950 worshippers.

From the date of the unification of the Parishes, the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption becomes the effective and only Parish of the capital; the two old Churches of St. Peter of Cassano and St. Peter of Lissano are henceforth mentioned only as rural chapels in which they occasionally celebrated for the dead and after 1730 they are no longer named, a clear sign that they had gone destroyed.

The Church of St. Mary of the Assumption had actually been the only one regularly used for services for many years; the building had three naves and the relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, St. Stephen and St. Crispin were kept in it.

There was a large tomb there to lay the corpses because, despite the Bishop's prohibition, only the bones were buried in the Cemetery when they were cleared of the tomb; annexed to the church rose the bell tower with three bells.

In the 1710 pastoral visitation of Monsignor Innocenzo Milliavacca, the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption was found to be moderately old, dark, and damp and therefore needed to be refitted; it was found, however, to be well furnished with rich vestments.

Around 1730 this church was enlarged and improved behind the main altar to obtain more light and ventilation, but the population expressed the desire to have a new church.

In 1746, the bell tower of the church was built.

In 1766, it was rebuilt from the foundations, in the Baroque style, apparently based on a design by the architect Benedetto Alfieri, with only the parishioners' donations.

In 1804, the church was again improved and then reconsecrated by the bishop of Asti Monsignor Pietro Giuseppe Arborio Gattinara da Vercelli.

In 1817 with the bull 'Beati Petri', Pope Pius VII assigned 106 parishes divided into 25 vicariates to the diocese of Asti; Castell'Alfero is included in the vicariate of Corsione.

On his visit in 1836, Monsignor Amatore Lobetti found the parish in excellent structure and condition; this pastoral visit was the first that a bishop undertook after many years; the visits had had to be suspended first because of the wars and then because of the spread of cholera, which he had raged in 1832 both in the city of Turin and in his province.

Insights

Comune di Castell'Alfero
https://www.comune.castellalfero.at.it

BeWeb - Beni Ecclesiastici in WEB
https://beweb.chiesacattolica.it/

www.castellalfero.net
https://www.castellalfero.net/

GAL BMA - Gruppo di Azione Locale del Basso Monferrato Astigiano
https://www.monferratoastigiano.it/

See also

News from Castell'Alfero

Events in Castell'Alfero