Eglise de l'Assomption / Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary (Piana, Corsica)
N 42° 14.320 E 008° 38.181
32T E 469996 N 4676339
The creamy-coloured sillhouete of Eglise de l'Assomption (Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary) belongs among the most distinctive architectural features of regional touristic centre, village Piana, at Corsica's west coast...
Waymark Code: WM74AK
Location: Corse, France
Date Posted: 08/31/2009
Views: 11
The history of village Piana is deeply connected with notable Ghjuvan-Tomaso Ceccaldi of Chidazzo, who in the late 17th century decided to settle in this territory called "E Piane". Tomaso Ceccaldi restored the local old Romanesque chapel of Ss. Peter and Paul. However, over the years, the chapel was too small to accommodate the faithful, so expansion becomes necessary.
In the 1765 started works on the construction of the new church in the Late Baroque style. The works on the church ended in 1792. From 1795 the church is under the patronage of the Assumption of Virgin Mary and opened for worship. The church was elevated to the parish church in 1796.
Three carved doors adorn the entrance facade of the church. The main entrance bears the date of completion of construction of the church, "September 6, 1792" and is topped by a lintel carved stone with the Latin inscription "Munera quaeris rebusque levamen in Arctis ingredere huc patrem rope rogare dei". The side doors are topped by two stained glass windows from the late 19th century. Thanks to the Basilica plan, the building has clean and harmonious proportions. The nave has four bays covered with a barrel vault. The choir of the semicircular apse is surmounted by an arch in a "cul-de-four". The steeple of a square, crowned by a lantern, was built in the third quarter of the 19th century by the master mason and contractor Thomas Rocchiccioli from Cargese.