The Little Church of San Silvestro in the Territory of Colledimacine

The Little Church of San Silvestro in the Territory of Colledimacine

by Lucio Cuomo

Rivista abruzzese : rassegna trimestrale di cultura , A. 60. (2007), 4, p. 360-362

Translated by Anthony Falcone

In F0 147 II South West of the Italian Military Geographical Institute map, a little less than one thousand five hundred meters as the crow flies from the center of Colledimacine, there is a small church, situated not far from the Valley San Lucia. The church building stands on a small natural mound which slopes to a spring which takes its name from the chapel above: Fonte San Silvestro.

During a hike in the territory, made in early September 2007, and I was granted the opportunity to visit this place that is not very well known, but deserving of specific observations. The chapel is located at an altitude of 673 meters above sea level and it has a rectangular plan with two other adjacent areas of smaller dimensions in the rear

The facade shows a very simple entrance consisting of isodomic piers composed of alternating white and brown stones. The monolithic lintel is encrusted with sediment that does not allow a clear reading of its method of construction and that seems to hide a date or perhaps an inscription related to the construction of the building. On either side of the gateway, of which there is only one door, are two small windows which, at some time perhaps furnished with railings, as highlighted by four blocks of pale stone. Above the lintel one observes a large rectangular window within which survives only the wooden frame of the four frames. Under the gabled roof, made of simple construction, is circular hole which was a probable air intake. The interior is bare, abandoned and infested with weeds and debris of a no longer existing cover, and is also extremely simple; however there are considerable traces of plaster located at the altar with a superior niche, both sides of the entrance of which are two surviving pilasters.

As you can see from the pictures, the first building, not very large, has three deep cracks on the façade that threaten its conservation and if the weather has not been so mild in the season that just passed, one cannot tell if in the near future the construction will continue to stand in snow and frost. The small church, probably much older than the construction of the eighteenth-century façade is understood to be, deserves a bit of attention not so much for its present form, as much for any surprises that its foundations could conceal. One of the two rear areas in fact still presents traces of plaster and the same position of the chapel located right on a spring seems to denote a greater sacredness of the place. The same spring then does not seem to have suffered this year’s aridity problems, because, even if very small, the water is present in the small spring.

With regard to its location, the chapel in itself deserves some attention, for some considerations.

First the name of the stream: St. Lucia. Similar to the St. Leo stream flowing further southeast in the territory of Pennadomo, which takes its name from a hill (St. Leo) in the same territory, in this manner the name St. Lucia seems to betray the presence of a sacred building, now long gone, located along the route of the same stream that comes from the slopes of Monte di Maio and Colle della Guardia at Montenerodomo. Second, the chapel of St. Sylvester is dedicated to a saint and pope who lived in the early fourth century AD, and most certainly not just a coincidence that other churches or chapels dedicated to St. Silvestro are located near or on the sheep migration tracks, for example, the parish church of Montazzoli, dedicated precisely to the fourth century Pope. In our case we must add that the chapel is located a few hundred meters from an ancient route that, coming from Taranta and passing Colledimacine, right near the confluence of the Vallone St. Lucia with the Vallone Cupo, located just under 800 meters as the crow flies from the chapel, it is divided into two additional paths, one of which goes to Torricella, the other, passing halfway between Colle Irco (Juvanum) and Monte Irco, crosses the territory of Three borders, Casale, the St. Leo stream above the Sulfurea spring, the Putile spring in the territory of Montelapiano, heading for the Valley of the Sangro.

The cult of St. Sylvester, very ancient, may have been mediated through transhumance, in earlier times preceding the Aragonese age, such as happened for the Saints Cosma and Damiano in Roccascalegna and St. Leucio in Atessa. And, among the concluding remarks, it would not be unlikely to assume the place of Fonte S. Silvestro as a resting place for flocks in transit, depending also and above all on the surviving animal pens arranged in the grove a few meters from the chapel.

Lucio Cuomo