Piedipaterno

The town developed as a trading village at the beginning of the 16th century and is located near one of the few crossings of the Nera river. The oldest part of the town is perched against the steep rock face, dominated by a watchtower, on the side of the valley opposite Vallo di Nera. The village has various religious buildings. The church of San Sebastiano, built on the site of the previous church of San Costanzo dating from the beginning of the 13th century. Inside there are various paintings from the 13th to the 17th century, a wooden altar from the 17th century and a baptismal font from 1603. The chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie is located in the lower part of the town and contains a Baroque altar. The small church of San Pietro is on the opposite side of the Nera, with 16th century frescoes. Just outside the village is the church of the Eremita, near the cemetery, which includes a crypt and is annexed to a monastery, this is an architecturally singular case and was part of a system that connected Paterno to Sellano. Next to the building there is a natural amphitheater surrounded by caves in which various hermits lived. The oldest part of the building dates back to the 11th century and was in turn built on the ruins of a previous building (church and abbey of Santa Maria de Ugonis) known as far back as the 9th century (see Santa Maria de Ugonis Abbey).