Chiesa di Santa Maria in Castello
Carpi, IT
The church of Santa Maria in Castello, also known as La Sagra, is the oldest church in the town of Carpi, having been erected in 752. However, the present building is a Romanesque church consecrated in 1184, built on the earlier Lombard foundations. The Renaissance façade was designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi and built in 1515. The demolition of some bays of the nave, which reduced the original length of the building, and the construction of a barrel-vaulted roof, removed between 1886 and 1887 by the engineer Achille Sammarini. The imposing bell tower, 49.50 metres high, is remarkable.