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Located above a high, green ground, the chiesetta is
devoted to the martyr Saint Quirico, who, with Saint Ambrose, is co-patron
of the parish church. It's a precious little rural church in pure
Romanesque style; one of the few extant in the Basso Monferrato. Built
between the XI and the XII centuries it almost certainly was a center of
worship for the inhabitants of Arliate, an ancient suburb of Treville of
which no traces remain.
On the hut-like façade, an architraved portal, topped by a lunette,
introduces a unique aisle. The semicircular apse has hanging bows and
three suggestive single lancet windows. Remains of frescos testify that it
was once completely adorned.
«The apse was in ancient times frescoed and a small trace of them remains.
Presumably, images of Saint Quirico were depicted» (Architect Marco
Spinoglio, Technical Project related to special maintenance jobs,
completed in 1992).
The small church, always dear to the inhabitants of Treville, was
preserved in good enough condition to serve for centuries as a precise
point of reference for local worship.
Mass for the patron saint was celebrated twice a year: on Pentecost and on
the Sunday of the week of Saint Quirico day (July 15). As recently as
about 40 years ago, the people of Treville went to San Quirico on foot or
by cart to assist at the Mass in honor of their co-patron. Then the
tradition was abandoned and, as a consequence, the church roof fell in.
At the end of the '70s and the beginning of the '80s, the young of
Treville organized some patron days to raise money for the reconstruction
of the roof , the church having been completely abandoned by the
ecclesiastical authorities.
St. Quirico without the roof (E. Pugno, 80's)
St. Quirico
(E. Pugno, 2004)
St. Quirico from the Parish Church of St.
Ambrogio (A. Frixa
2004) |
