Pieve of Saint Casciano in Saint Frediano in Settimo

Antica Pieve. If you pay attention from the outside, you notice that it is unfinished. Row of columns only the base is present, the roof was added in haste, probably the money was finished. Inside one can appreciate the ancient age of the Church and the baptismal font. Outside incisions of Cassiano's life. The bell tower is posthumous because unfortunately the original was knocked down during the WW II.

Beautiful church in San Casciano in the municipality of Cascina dating back to the 12th century, Romanesque architecture, to visit.

Martyr's Feast of San Cassiano (August 13th) Cassiano, who settled in Forum Cornelii, today's Imola, taught grammar and literature. He also gave some of his students lessons in notorious ars, modern shorthand. Educator of youth, he did not give up communicating the Christian faith to learners. Some citizens denounced him to the Prefect as "author of a new religion". Tried, he was ordered to renounce his belief and to sacrifice to the gods of the Roman religion. Cassiano refused and was sentenced to death. The judge imposed on his students, as a penalty for having listened to him, to execute the sentence. The martyrdom of San Cassiano is probably at the time of the persecution of Christians ordered by the emperor Diocletian (February 303 - March 305). For many centuries it was thought that the story of martyrdom was a popular tradition. However, recent studies, promoted in the context of the Cassianeo Year, carried out by various US and European teams, have shown that the holes found in the martyr's skull are compatible with the size of the stilettos with which at that time the students engraved the wax plates and with which martyrdom would have been accomplished.

Great place to start with nice walks. Interesting historical church, but from the bell tower, destroyed during the 2nd World War by the Nazis, incredibly reconstructed well over 40 years later. Reconstruction of the bell tower not appropriate for a medieval basilica of 1100. Absurd example of little sensitivity to the history of the church and to the money of citizens spent for this absurd and unfaithful reconstruction that disfigures the image and offends the value of this precious church.

Pisan Romanesque church, typical of its kind, bare of decorations but with an incredible charm. Located in a large green square it stands out in its beauty.

Jewel of the Romanesque Pisano, with the three architraves signed by Biduino. Masterpiece of architecture and sculpture. Inside, baptismal font by immersion.

As an art school student, I did specific research on the Pieve di San Casciano. It is the only one that boasts bas-reliefs, on the architraves of the side doors, by the same stonecutters who worked on the Cathedral of Pisa. A fact that made this church to the same importance as Cascina and Calci. Unfortunately the sad vicissitudes that hit the Pisan Republic, they had the project resized; and this can also be seen from the disproportion between the base and the central nave downwards compared to the classic Pisan Romanesque. Inside, coexist columns built in 1000, with recoveries from the Roman era; removed from the temple which stood in the same place. Of which the floor remains; now placed outside the facade. There is no certain information relating to the pagan place of worship, but it could have been dedicated to the Arno river, as a sign of respect and clemency. This beautiful Pieve is part of the Cascinese itinerary, adjacent to the cycle path. The only drawback of this splendid building has always been its bell tower. If in Pisa there are various leaning bell towers, in addition to the splendid Tower, due to the clayey soil that does not support the weight of buildings developed in height; S. Cassiano and Ippolito is no exception. In some cases it was decided to demolish and renounce the reconstruction of the bell towers, while over the centuries there have been 4 structures over the course of 1000 years of history, the last one still standing in reinforced concrete. A white monster that degenerates the whole context. Solution held responsible and the only possibility .... true but also a sort of concrete obelisk, which smacks of pagan; perhaps the Pieve itself would have preferred to remain an orphan rather than in the shadow of that large "POLE WITH THE BELL IN THE HEAD". It is just my personal opinion, after all his predecessors have always been children of the time of construction, and all discordant from the rest of the monument. Closing this review I will return to the paving in the churchyard of the Pieve; as already described it was originally the pavement of a Roman temple from which some of the columns inside the Romanesque Church derive. It is certainly not uncommon to use older structures, especially columns, which need a lot of time and a good hand to be well done. In the case of the flooring, on the other hand, one avoided using one of pagan origin; also its outdoor position denotes the desire to separate the Christian and consecrated structure from the ancient temple. Last but not least, up to the great plagues, the dead were buried inside the building, just look at the floors and walls of the Romanesque and medieval churches; this was unthinkable in the subsoil of a sacred place prior to Christianity.