Church of San Paolo (Silea)

The Church of San Paolo It was a church located in Lanzago (Silea), whose foundation dated back to the eighth century. He was among the oldest churches in the diocese of Treviso. The church, with its adjoining monastery, was one of the first monastic settlements of the nonantolani in the Treviso area ^[first] .

The foundation [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In the eighteenth century, an ancient XII century document was found at the ancient monastery of Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Fuca di Treviso, which, founded in 776, belonged to the monastery of S. Silvestro di Nonantola until 1462. It is a Parchment which refers to the foundation of the church of San Paolo di Lanzago. The historian Rambaldo of the Azzoni Avogaro (1716-1790) in his work reports of this discovery Illustration of an eighth century card written in Trivigi concerning the antiquity of the nonanto monastery, published in 1773 ^[2] .

Avogaro writes that this ancient document, dated between September 726 and June 727, was copied in full in a parchment in the mid -twelfth century and subsequently transcribed in the 16th century, by a copy that defines 《Little expert》, which On the reverse reports the note ^[3] :

“The year XV, reign Leonardo (Liutprando) King of Italy, Lorenzo Clerico and Petronia his wife manufactured the church of San Paolo di Lanzago”

In the work, the historian integrates the text of the document with which a certain Lorenzo, cleric, with his wife Petronia, donate their assets, including a house in Treviso and different land, to the church of San Paolo di Lanzago.

The document also reports that the church and the monastery founded by them and where they intended to go to live there, at their death they had to pass, with all their other properties, to the Monastery of San Silvestro di Nonantola.

The document signed by cleric Lorenzo and his wife Petronia (who signs with the sign of the cross) is drawn up by the notary Lamb, cleric, who signs it together with three witnesses, Ugo, Dagrus Garsi and Garisindus.

The discussion between historians on the truthfulness of the document [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

During the eighteenth century there is a debate among the historians from which various positions emerge on the truthfulness of the previous document. Ludovico Antonio Muratori (1672-1750), among the most important historians of the time, seems to have not given a definitive judgment. Girolamo Tiraboschi, author of two volumes on History of the Augusta Badia di San Silvestro di Nonantola , on the other hand, had a long correspondence with Avogadro; While not expressing himself against the truthfulness of the original parchment, the part that referred to the donation to the Nonantola monastery considered an interpretation. For the Tiraboschi there was no doubt that the monastery had been founded in 742 by S. Anselmo di Nonantola, a few decades after the act of donation in question.

Another opinion was that of Pier Angelo Passolunghi who, while considering the parchment “manufactured on the basis of an authentic document, perhaps with the same names as the characters”, believed that he was the work of the priory nonantolano of Santa Fosca ^[4] .

For Carlo Agnoletti (1845-1913), historian Treviso, author of the volume Treviso and its parish churches , there is no doubt about the authenticity of the document and reports it in full as proof of the foundation of the church of San Paolo di Lanzago, subsequently passed to the nonantolani. He also observes how the nonantolani probably drew their name from the Latin verb Novare That is, modifying, renewing, fixing Selvosi and Paludosis and which existed since the 6th century, even if the monastery of Nonantola is founded by the mid -eighth century from written sources ^[5] .

Another historian who dealt with the parchment was Giovanni Battista Pigato (1910-1976), religious and writer, who in his book Madonna Grande , speaks widely of this eighth century card and notes that in the early Middle Ages it was a rather common phenomenon founding or looking for refuge in the Benedictine monasteries, to escape from the situation of insecurity that dominated during the period of the Lombard domination in Italy ^[6] .

For Giovanni Battista Pigato, the paper is most likely correct, as the story is likely and the church of San Paolo di Lanzago, from its foundation it has always belonged to the Badia of Nonantola, through the monastery of Santa Maria Maggiore in Treviso. This until, in 1467, the regular canons of the Lateranian regular canonicals succeeded the Nonantolani ^[7] .

Documentary historical sources [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

From the documentation traced, it was possible to reconstruct a short list, even if very partial, of parish priests and chaplains who, in addition to the founder, followed each other during the fourteenth century in the Church of St. Paul the Lange ^[8] :

• 727 Clerk Lawrence, Fondator
• 1312 Clerk Alberto, retorte
• 1312 presb. Bitinus, rettore
• 1330 Clerk Alberto, retorte
• 1344-1348 presb. Bitinus, rettore
• 1378 presb. John Honorati, Cappellano.

A reference to the Church finds itself in a document of 1225 that mentions the The church and the monastery of St. Paul the Lange, In relation to a rental contract for the properties of the Church and the Monastery ^[9] .

In 1297 the Church was so important that it was considered as the twenty -third chapel of the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista di Treviso Filed on November 5, 2021 on the Internet Archive .. there are documents of the year 1315 who quote the S. PAULA DE LAUNCHO REGULATE ^[ten] . It should be noted that the Rule It was a village of a certain consistency, a rural municipality with its own statute and subject to taxation and obligations for collective services, such as public utility works.

In a Charter of 1423 the church is attributed the title of Pieve and other documents attest that the Church and its properties belonged, always in the fifteenth century, in Santa Maria Maggiore in Treviso ^[11] . We also learn that in 1474 the Church was with no attention and with a very small income ^[twelfth] .

The disappearance of the Church [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Following the events related to the siege of Treviso during the war of the Cambrai League, in 1511 the church was partially destroyed and rebuilt a few years later. From a document of the year 1549, the church is always belonging to the monastery of Santa Maria Maggiore in Treviso and in 1554 there are documents that refer to restoration works. In 1568 his benefits still belonged to the friars of Santa Maria Maggiore, who went to celebrate the mass on June 30 of each year. In 1575 the church and its properties of 70 fields belonged to the church of Santa Fosca di Treviso, a church connected to the Madonna Grande ^[13] .

However, in 1592 the parish priest of the nearby church of Melma (now Silea) reported to the bishop of Treviso during a pastoral visit, which the church of San Paolo was now reduced in poor condition, without rector and without revenue. He therefore suggests his demolition to the Bishop. In fact, a few years later the episcopal decree of 19 September 1615 aggregates the community of San Paolo di Lanzago to that of San Michele di Melma ^[11] .

Of the church and the monastery of San Paolo there is no trace today and there is no further news. The Azzoni Avogaro at the end of the eighteenth century wrote that the toponym remained on the place Sampaole ^[14] , but now this toponym has been lost. The locals, as specified in the article of the Diocesan weekly The life of the people of 2 and 16 April 1967, entitled The multi -millennial S. Paolo of Lanzago , remember that this location was called “the friars” ^[15] And there is currently, not far away, the Via dei Frati.

The oratory of the Visitation of Maria [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

There is news of the presence in the eighteenth century of the oratory of the “Visitation of Mary”, belonging to the Certosa del Montello, who in Lanzago had a convent and a hospice as well as various land properties, donated by Philippe de Mezieres (approximately 1327-1405) towards The end of the fourteenth century ^[16] .

In 1779 in a document relating to a pastoral visit of the bishop to the community of S. Michele di Melma he was mentioned as an oratory of S. Maria Maddalena, belonging to the hospice of the Certosini del Montello (presumably the oratory of the visit), in which it is specifies that he had been visited in 1759 by the provincial superior Father Onigo ^[17] .

These properties of the Certosa, including the monastery and the oratory, during the Napoleonic period were expropriated and sold to private individuals. The oratory, always in the hands of private and now decadent, was reconstructed in 1825 ^[18] .

The capital of the Madonna del Carmine [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Also in Lanzago there is an ancient capital, which the popular belief believes to have been built near the ancient church of San Paolo. This capital is described in the article already mentioned de The life of the people of 2 and 16 April 1967 and was located in the garden of a private home until, in 2005, it was decided to move it to the public area a few dozen meters from its original location ^[19] .

The relocation of the artifact was somewhat difficult both because it was very heavy and because, according to eye witnesses, the excavation around the capital brought down a submerged part deep over two meters deep. The fact that appears rather unusual for such a small construction.

Thus deep foundations could suggest a use of materials or structures of a pre -existing building (perhaps of the ancient church of San Paolo di Lanzago). A more in -depth knowledge could derive from an archaeological research on the bricks remained buried in their original position or on those currently at the base of the capital.

The capital, contacted to the Madonna del Carmine, was restored after its relocation and the original frescoes have returned to light. Inside you can see, among other things, a Madonna between two angels and a dove in the ceiling, while outside, there is a San Cristoforo. Other traces of decorations and frescoes can also be detected in different parts of the temple.

• Carlo Agnoletti, Treviso and its parish churches. Historical illustration in the fifteenth centenary of the institution of the Bishopric Trivigiano (CCCXCVI-MDCCXCVI) , Treviso, Tipografia Instituto Turazza, 1897.
• Rambaldo degli Azzoni Avogaro, Illustration of an eighth century card written in Trivigi concerning the antiquity of the Nonanto monastery , in New collection of scientific and philological brochures , Tomo 24, Venice, Simone Occhi, 1773.
• Maria Luisa Crovato, The chronicle of the Certosa del Montello , Padua, Antenor Editrice, 1987.
• Angelo Marchesan, Medieval Treviso. Institutions, uses, costumes, anecdotes, curiosities , Flight. And, Bologna, given Edritrice, 1977.
• Giovanni Battista Pigato, The great Madonna. History of the parish and sanctuary of Santa Maria Maggiore in Treviso , Rapallo, Emilian typography, 1943.
• Danilo Dispartin, Silea yesterday and today: notes for the history of Silea, Lanzago, Cendon and S. Elena sul Sile , Preganziol (Treviso), Grafolito, 1978.
• A piece of Silea saved , in Sile. Information periodical of the Municipality of Silea (TV) , Nº 4 – December 2005, Cesare Biasin, 2005.

The three Venezie – Silea – The origins: http://www.letRevenezie.net/pubblicazioni/silea/origini1.htm

Official Site Abbey of Nonantola: https://abbazianonantola.

New collection of scientific and philological brochures by Rambaldo degli Azzoni Avogaro: https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_klo04a5rm9gc/page/n85/mode/2up?up?