Church of Saints Peter and Paul

The parish church of Saints Peter and Paul is located near the Re Enzo tower. The original building, known since the 12th century, served as an important plebian church, installed within the castle walls around which the medieval village was established. Constructed following the rule that the apse should always be positioned to the east (typical of churches built between the 10th and 14th centuries), it was eventually destroyed after the devastation caused in 1630 by yet another episode of war between Bologna and Modena.

The present building was erected between 1638 and 1642 on a different location following the altered conditions of the village (the castle had disappeared), as well as the architectural lines of the Baroque period. It is part of a larger complex comprising an oratory, a rectory and other premises owned by the parish. The façade and interior of the church are divided into two superimposed orders, featuring a hall with side chapels and a barrel vault. The apse is semicircular, externally polygonal and includes a 17th-century wooden choir. The interior houses the original 11th-century baptismal font (probably obtained from the capital of a Roman column), as well as paintings by Antonio Rossi (1700-1753), Lucio Massari (1569-1633), Vincenzo Spisanelli (1595-1662), Angelo Piò (1690-1760), Alessandro Guardassoni (1818-1888) and Gaetano Serra Zanetti (1809-1862). The wooden altarpiece of the original church, by the school of Andrea Marchesi, known as Formigine (1480-1559), is still preserved. The exterior, on the southern side, features two sundials.