User Reviews
San Secondo Church stands on the hill of Mongiglietto, about 1 km west of Cortazzone. Built in the early 12th century, it is a fine example of Romanesque architecture, notable for its imaginative sculptural decorations on the southern wall, apses, and interior capitals. Still active today, it hosts the annual feast of Saint Secondo, Cortazzone’s patron saint.
Although the exact origins are unknown, the church likely began as part of a Benedictine monastery. In the 12th century, it came under the bishops of Pavia, then later under the bishop of Asti. It once served as the parish church for a nearby village, later abandoned for the safer, fortified Cortazzone.
The church reflects the flourishing Romanesque style in the Asti and Monferrato regions, with its alternating brick and sandstone walls, sculpted stone capitals, and rich decorative details like blind arcades, checkered friezes, and sculpted corbels.
The facade is simple, featuring a portal framed by stone arches and decorated with a bird, a human head, and a scallop-shell motif—possibly indicating a pilgrim route. A small bell gable was later added above.
More elaborate decorations appear on the southern wall and the three apses, showcasing fantastic creatures, human figures, and symbolic motifs. One sculpture humorously shows a man climbing an arch—perhaps the architect himself.
Inside, the church has a basilica layout with three naves, five bays, round arches, and cross vaults (added later). The stone capitals, though roughly carved, display a rich variety of figures: double-tailed mermaids, birds, tritons, fish, horses, floral elements, and pilgrimage symbols like shells and cornucopias.
The presbytery is slightly raised, with three semicircular apses. The central apse features a 14th-century fresco of Christ between Saints Secondo and Brunone (or Siro), restored in 1992.
Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.