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The story of the wooden crucifix from the sea
This little village is famed for its church dedicated to Saints
Apollinaris and Christopher, which in the course of time overtook
in renown the famous Baslica of San Cristoforo at Aquilam di Colombarone,
even taking its name. The church is renowned and venerated throughout
the Region for the miraculous wooden crucifix on the high altar.
The wooden figure of Christ, known as the crucifix from the sea,
is Venetian, the work of the
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| Casteldimezzo |
Ex Castrum Medi (also called Galliolo, Gaiolo, Garzoleto or Castel
Bernardo) is situated at about 200 meters above sea level and is
a natural balcony which has a view that covers a wide horizon on
which the Castle of Gradara, the peaks of San Marino and the Hump
of Mt. Catria stand out. Casteldimezzo conserves a part of the walls
which once were interspersed with numerous towers, however today,
the fortress is no longer standing. The church named for the Ravenna
Saints Apollinare and Cristoforo is particularly interesting; it
conserves a Crucifix from the XV century, the work of Jacobello
del Fiore: this Crucifix is at the centre of an adventuresome tale
commemorated by a stone tablet that dates to 1652, placed in the
church itself. The large panel which can be dated to about 1510
placed over the centre altar is of equal importance; it is the work
of F. Zaganelli or G. Marchesi and depicts a Madonna on the throne
with the Child, the Saints Apollinare and Cristoforo and an angel
musician.
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| sculptor Antonio di Bonvesin and of the famous
painter Iacobello del Fiore, to whom scholars attribute not merely the decorating
of the crucifix but also its design. According to legend, the crucifix arrived
in Casteldimezzo by sea, enclosed in a wooden casket, at the beginning of
the sixteenth century, but before it could be unloaded on to land the ship
was wrecked. The inhabitants thought it lost for ever, but the crucifix
floated miraculously through the tempest, coming to land on the beach between
Casteldimezzo and Fiorenzuola. Both villages were eager to possess the miraculous
cross and almost came to open conflict, until someone suggested entrusting
the decision to divine judgement. The crucifix was placed on a cart pulled
by oxen which were then left free to wander where they would. The story
has it that the oxen started out, with no hesitation, on the road leading
to Casteldimezzo, and did not stop until they reached the church door, so
making manifest the divine will. |
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Numerous miracles are attributed to the crucifix, the best-known being
that granted to the populace on the night of the sixth of May 1517. At that
time, the troops of the Duke of Urbino Francesco Maria I Della Rovere were
fighting fiercely to wrest the Duchy from the nephew of Pope Leo X, Lorenzo
di Pietro de Medici, who had usurped power and whose militia were surrounding
Pesaro. The battle was fierce and violent and ended in the defeat of the
Florentine troops, who retreated in a rout from the field of battle and
sought refuge in bands between Casteldimezzo and Gabicce. About seven thousand
soldiers from all over Europe gathered outside the town walls, intending
to sack the little township. The inhabitants of Casteldimezzo, terrified
and well aware of the weakness of their position, gathered in the church
of Sant’Apollinare and prayed to the miraculous cross to save them
in their mortal peril. After an interminable night made terrifying by the
raucous and incomprehensible shouts of the ferocious soldiery, the sun rose
on town gates still intact, and the populace, realising that they had been
miraculously saved, changed their prayers into hymns of praise. A chapel
was built to commemorate the event, but it was destroyed a century later
by an earthquake, and so an epigraph was carved on a tablet which can still
be seen today. The fame of the crucifix soon spread well beyond the boundaries
of the village, and the church became a place of pilgrimage for the faithful
from far and wide. In 1782 Pope Pius VI "granted perpetual Plenary
Indulgence to all who, having made their confession and received communion,
should visit the church on any day of the year, and the Indulgence could
also be extended to the deceased". |
Another fine work of art is preserved in the little church
of Casteldimezzo: a panel painting of the Madonna and child with Saints
Apollinaris and Christopher, which hangs in the chapel on the left. Scholars
are divided in their opinions, but many attribute it to Francesco Zaganelli
da Cotignola or to his elder brother Bernardino. The painting was commissioned
by Giovanni Sforza, also a native of Cotignola, in 1510.
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