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The Church of St Andrew in Sezze: from Medieval Parish to its Reconstruction Outside the Walls
The church of Sant'Andrea was one of the six historic parish churches of Sezze, each linked to a district of the historic centre. It stood near one of the main entrances to the Lepine city, and had been a religious landmark for the local community since the Middle Ages. On 21 May 1944, a bombing raid by Anglo-American aviation destroyed it, together with the church of Santi Sebastiano e Rocco. The roof, bell tower and part of the outer wall collapsed. Beneath the rubble, 71 people died.
Its Reconstruction Outside the Historic Centre
The devastation was such that Bishop Pio Leonardo Navarra obtained from the Holy See, as early as 1945, permission to rebuild the church not on its original site but in the countryside. The locality of Colli, in the basin of Suso, was chosen. After the purchase of the land by several families from Sezze, the works proceeded slowly. The building was completed in the early 1970s, while the sacristy, the bell tower and adjoining spaces were completed only after 1974.
A Church Born Twice
Today Sant'Andrea is the only one of the ancient district parishes to be found outside the town walls. Its story tells of a wound that has never entirely healed — and of a community that nonetheless chose to rebuild its place of worship, even though on another site.
