Basilica di San Biagio, Cento, Minor basilica in Cento, Italy.
Basilica di San Biagio is a church in Cento featuring a marble altar, stone flooring, and a bell tower designed by Pietro Alberto Cavalieri in 1760. The interior displays classical architectural elements that give the space dignity and order.
A church dedicated to Saints Blaise and Severinus is documented in Cento as early as the 11th century, with a plaque at the altar giving 1045. The collegiate church was rebuilt between 1732 and 1744 to a design by Alfonso Torreggiani, promoted by archpriest Girolamo Baruffaldi and Cardinal Prospero Lambertini. The bell tower was built by Pietro Alberto Cavalieri in 1760, and the church was solemnly consecrated on 20 October 1764.
The church keeps the name of Saint Blaise alone since the 12th century, having earlier been dedicated also to Saint Severinus. Its five bells hang in a wooden frame and are rung only by hand, by a local team of campanari using the "a trave" technique, standing on the supporting beams and adding "ribattute" strokes between rotations.
The basilica faces Via Ugo Bassi in central Cento, a short walk from the town's main square. It was closed after the 2012 Emilia earthquake and reopened in 2018 following restoration. Access may be limited during services and choir practice, when the bell ringers rehearse on the tower.
The five bells in Cavalieri's 1760 tower are hung in the Bolognese style on a wooden frame and rung only by hand, by a local team using the "a trave" technique, standing on the support beams. Their concert replaces the perfect fourth with an augmented fourth, which can sound slightly dissonant and is a point of pride for local bell-ringers.
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