Pieve di Codiponte
A masterpiece of the Ludigiana Romanesque
The Codiponte parish church of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, in Casola in Lunigiana, is among the most fascinating and artistically rich in the territory of the ancient Diocese of Luni; with its figured capitals and artistic masterpieces, it is a true paradigm of the Lunigiana Romanesque. The parish church stands on the right bank of the Aulella, near a bridge beyond which the ruins of the 11th-century castle of the Bianchi d'Erberia can be seen in the distance.
The first documentary mention is pre-Carolingian (793); this historical phase is evidenced by the octagonal baptismal font base from the 8th century.
Thanks to archaeological excavations, we know that there were settlements of the ancient Ligurians in the 8th century and a later Roman settlement of the imperial age between the 1st and 4th centuries, confirming the primary importance of the site, which, as reflected in the toponym (Caput Pontis), i.e., bridgehead, was of strategic importance for the movement of men and goods.
The church has a three-nave basilical plan with perfectly preserved columns and round arches and notched cubic capitals bearing figures typical of the medieval image system: tree of life, lily, six-petaled daisy, snake with feet, bicaudate mermaid and many others.
Very interesting is the late medieval triptych with the enthroned Virgin, Saints Cornelius and Cyprian titulars of the church, and the image of the Holy Face, a famous and revered relic of Lucca, recalling the passage, in these very places, of the Way of the Holy Face.
