Pegognaga, Parish church dedicated to Saint Lawrence dean and martyr

Documented as a curtis (land centre) in AD 877, Pegognaga made its appearance as a parish church of Reggio Emilia’s diocese in AD 980, but perhaps it is the same church as San Lorenzo di Flexo, attested at the beginning of the 11th century. From the bishop of Reggio, the parish church passed to Boniface of Canossa, who resided in Pegognaga in July 1012, and then to Matilda, Boniface’s daughter, in 1113. Tradition has it that Matilda built it after demolishing a pre-existing pagan temple, but no documents exist on direct interventions by the Countess in the construction works. However, the Romanesque parish church that can be seen today dates back to the late 11th century, when it was ruled by a community of canons and controlled the nearby churches. Abandoned in the second half of the 17th century, in the 20th century the building underwent numerous restorations and rearrangements; in the 1930’s in particular, the crypt was recovered to host the tombstones of the soldiers who had died in the WWI, and was brought back to its Romanesque shape. Specific to the original parish church are the three beautiful semicircular apses divided by semi-columns with small cornerless capitals, and the left of the transept. Also note the brickwork ornamental patterns, and the suspended arches that follow the weathered cover. The façade reflects the tripartition of the inner naves, while the protirum is the result of an 18th-century reconstruction. A Roman-period bas-relief is set on the façade.