Saint Peter’s Church in Robbio is a modest sized church of great beauty.

Robbio

Walking through the Lombardy region through endless fields of rice we came across the small town of Robbio. Robbio, with a population of about 6,160 is situated about 50km south west of Milan. [1]

Saint Peter’s Church

Every so often along the journey a  church captures our attention and the doors to the church are open for us to go in and explore. The brick church of Saint Peter’s on the road to Mortara was a church that I found particularly beautiful.

It is very different from the French timber framed churches in Bailly-le-Franc and Lentilles that I have written about previously.

Architectural Simplicity

Saint Peter’s Church is a superb brick church with brick vaults and beautiful frescos. I was in awe of its stunning architectural simplicity.

It is estimated to have been built in the second half of the 12th century and was situated outside the village walls close to the gate known as St Peter’s on the road to Mortara.

There was a ‘hospicium’ offering assistance to pilgrims near this gate as stated in a document dated 1236AD.

Restructured

The sign outside states that the building was restructured radically in 1885. On this occasion a rose window was created on the facade and the bell tower, which is still standing, was erected close to the northern apsidiole.

Restoration

In the sixties restoration work tried to eliminate the 19th century additions and integrate the missing parts according to the original model. The original flooring was replaced inside and the plaster was removed.

The projecting facade is decorated with with a blind gallery of semi columns supporting double superciliary arches. The main portal, which has beautiful decoration of terracotta tiles, is not original.

The eastern part consists of a larger central apse and by two side apsidioles, which are all crowned by hanging arches, at times with a decorative sun burst motif, and by a saw-tooth cornice.

It is a triple naive building with square bays in the main nave and rectangular bays in the side naves.

Frescos

Traces of frescos from different periods can still be seen. Christ in a Mandorla with the Evangelists is portrayed on the vault of the apse, and underneath Saint Peter the Apostle beside Saint Peter Martyr.

Beside this , is a portrayal of Christ risen from the grave with the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist at the sides; St John the Baptist looks on the scene from behind the cross. On the right wall there is an interesting portrayal of the Last Supper. [2]

God Is In The Details

The combination of the vaulted brickwork and plastered areas together with the frescos really made this small church stand out in its beauty in the churches I have seen. Its stark simplicity and details I found hard to leave as I sat admiring it intently.

A painting of Saint Peter holding the key to heaven on an easel next to the raised altar completed the picture.

It went to show that size and grandeur aren’t important in creating a place of religious worship. This modest brick building created a space of immense beauty through simple well executed details.

Bibliography:

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbio#History

2. Information sign outside church. Progetto realizzato con il finanziamento del Programma Operativo INTERREG IL ITALIA-SVIZERRA.