Santa Cecilia a Decimo, Romanesque church in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Italy
Santa Cecilia a Decimo is a Romanesque basilica-style church in San Casciano in Val di Pesa. Its facade is preceded by a three-arch portico, and the interior has three naves of five bays on rectangular pillars with round arches. The intact Romanesque bell tower on the north side is built of limestone and sandstone laid in courses, with four pointed-arch openings in the bell chamber.
The pieve is first documented in a March 884 charter of the Badia a Passignano, and its name comes from the tenth mile of the via Cassia. From the 10th century it was protected by King Lothair II and Emperor Otto III, who exempted it from the right of hospitality, confirmed in 1120. In 1355 it became the seat of the Lega di Decimo, and between 1728 and 1730 the interior was remodelled in Baroque style with seven altars and stucco decoration.
The name Decimo comes from the church's position at the tenth mile of the via Cassia. The parish once headed a territory of 15 suffragan churches, and the bishop of Florence kept the right to appoint its priests. Inside, a Roman funerary stele of a freedman, reused in the Middle Ages as the baptismal font, lies on the floor.
The church is not always open to visitors, so it helps to contact the local tourism office before planning a visit. The building sits in a rural area outside the village, which means it takes some time to reach on foot or by car.
A Roman funerary stele of a freedman, inscribed in Latin and dating to the late imperial period, lies on the floor near the baptismal font; in the Middle Ages it was reworked and used as the font itself. The first two pillars by the entrance have been stripped of plaster, showing their original form.
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