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The Sanctuary of Vescovio (St Mary of the Assumption) in Torri in Sabina: the Cathedral of the Sabines
The Sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta in Vescovio stands on the plain of Torri in Sabina, where in the 1st century BC the Roman market of Forum Novum was located. Also known as the "Cathedral of the Sabines," this church is the oldest centre of civil and religious life in the Sabina region.
From Forum Novum to the first Christian community outside Rome
In Torri in Sabina, between 40 and 50 AD, the first Christian community outside Rome was formed. The Aureli-Ursaci family was the first outside the city to embrace Christianity. According to tradition, St Peter celebrated the Fractio Panis — the forerunner of the Mass — in the dining hall of the Ursaci villa. In the 4th century AD, a church was built on the remains of the villa. This became the bishop's residence until 1495. During that period, five local bishops became Pope.
The 13th-century frescoes and the Romanesque bell tower
In 876 AD, the Saracens razed it to the ground. It was rebuilt in just 10 years. The floor plan consists of a single central nave and two side chapels. The nave preserves a 13th-century pictorial cycle attributed to the school of Cavallini. On the counter-façade, also by the same school, is a Last Judgement — hidden beneath a layer of whitewash since 1800, and only rediscovered during the restorations of 1930. The bell tower, dating from the 10th–11th century, has three tiers of windows, and reuses materials from the Roman or early Christian era.
