Varignana boasts a healthy and breezy climate, today as it once was, so much so that the anti Pope John XXIII, who fled from Bologna where the plague was raging, divided his stay for two months, in the autumn of 1410 between Castel S. Pietro and Varignana. From the hills around Varignana, for centuries, construction material derived from the consolidation of the Pliocene sand was widely used in the construction of the Bolognese houses. Finally, we recall that the world war reduced this locality to ruins, but it was soon rebuilt by the local inhabitants, with the exception of the bell tower that stood next to the church of San Lorenzo.
San Lorenzo Church
In the year 1300 inside the castle, of which remains a large tower, two churches were mentioned: that of S. Lorenzo (the current parish church) and that of S. Maria, now called St. Joseph. The church of San Lorenzo was changed different times over the centuries and in 1925 it was joined a bell tower. After the ruins of the war it was brought back to the original beautiful Romanesque, with three naves (1958), but without the bell tower and the portico in front. Inside, the church preserves a statue of the Madonna and Child, which recalls the school of Jacopo Della Quercia, which was located in the other church of S. Maria and S. Giuseppe. To see absolutely the crypt of Varignana, located below the church and dating back to the eighth century. Also built in pre-Romanesque style, with three naves. Inside there is a fresco dating back to the fifteenth century. The crypt was completely restored in 1999.
Address
San Lorenzo Church: Via San Lorenzo, 1 – 40024 Castel San Pietro Terme (Bo)