Basilica San Salvatore dei Fieschi
Construction of the Basilica of San Salvatore dei Fieschi - also known simply as the Basilica of Fieschi – started in 1244 by Pope Innocent IV, born Sinibaldo Fieschi, member of the noble family that dominated the entire Fontanabuona Aveto valley. The church started as a small chapel belonging to the newly erected Fieschi palace. The construction work lasted for several years, and the building was opened and consecrated by Pope Adrian V, born Ottobuono Fieschi, a nephew of Sinibaldo, who became pope in 1276. The church became an important religious center because it was half-way the import pilgrim route to Rome on the famous Via Francigena. It was very important for the development of this area.
The church and adjacent village became a national monument in 1860. It is considered one of best preserved Roman churches in Liguria. The church underwent important restoration in the nineteenth century and again in the late twentieth century, this time by Maurice Dufour. On 27 April 2005, the 750th anniversary of the death of Pope Innocent IV, in the former palace that now serves as a museum, a special room was dedicated to the history of the noble family Fieschi.
The outside of the church
The building's façade is covered with a roof of slate, extracted from the nearby quarries of Val Fontanabuona and Monte San Giacomo, alternating with bands of white marble, similar in style to other churches in Liguria. At its center is located a showy rose arches surmounted by marble Gothic-Roman portal is characterized by an architrave with an inscription in Latin of the foundation and a fresco of the fifteenth century. The tower is a square tower flanked by four spiers.
The interior of the church
The interior of the building consists of three naves, separated by a row of decorated stone columns . Among the relics are pieces of wood, kept in a glass coffin, that are believed to be fragments of the cross Jesus was believed to be crucified at, a gift from Pope Adrian V.
The cache
Sometime you find a place you have to hide a cache. In this case is was a small hole in one of the walls of the church, I came upon, covered by a piece of iron (to keep the rats out ?). The cache itself is covered by a flat stone. I’s a place Indiana Jones would not put his hand in, because he doesn’t like spiders. By the way, I only found the cobbwebs … And if you think: “it smells here like a public toilet” keep in mind that in the thirteenth century this smell was quite normal in the streets …