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Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Holy Mary in Cretone: A Baronial Chapel with 14th-Century Frescoes
In the historic centre of Cretone, a hamlet in the area of Palombara Sabina, a 14th-century church is tucked away among the houses overlooking the main square. The Church of the Immaculate Conception began as a baronial chapel, connected to the castle that controlled this part of Sabina. The building is small, with a plastered gable façade and a single wooden door preceded by a stone stairway. Above the entrance is an oculus framed in brick. Everything here is sober, essential.
The Deposition Frescoes
On the left wall of the hall a cycle of 14th-century frescoes depict the Deposition, the Lamentation and the Resurrection of Christ. The scenes are painted in fresco on plaster, with colours still visible despite the centuries. It is a significant discovery for such a modest building: 14th-century frescoes in a hamlet chapel, evidence that even small centres in Sabina enjoyed high-quality artistic patronage.
The Interior
The plan is rectangular, with a single nave and straight termination. The ceiling has exposed wooden trusses, the walls punctuated by four arches with brick frames. The floor is laid with terracotta tiles in a herringbone pattern with a central travertine guide. In the 1960s a right side chapel was added, the only visible intervention in modern times. The load-bearing structure is in quarry stone, covered by a double-pitched roof with brick tiles.
