Saint Secondo, Cortazzone

Great small romanic church with original old decoration. Worth to visit - very interesting masterpiece with unique architecture. The church is closed, but you can take a keys in places downstairs the mountain - in petrol station esso or in bar nearby IL Puffo

A beautiful Romanesque style church, neat and tidy with a square in front "furnished" with tables for packed lunches and a drinking water fountain. Unfortunately, being on a bike and having accidentally found this beautiful church on the tour, it was not possible for me to visit it inside as it is closed, but there are indications to be able to retrieve the keys and visit it inside. To be reviewed with more organization.

It can be easily reached by car up to the clearing in front of the church. There is a fountain and a table with benches where you can possibly eat packed. I visited the church on Saturday 26th February and it was open. In case it is closed, you will find the addresses to retrieve the keys on the descriptive sign. The church is very well kept both internally and externally. Valuable example of Romanesque sacred architecture. Organize the trip to visit the nearby churches of San Martino and San Giorgio (inside the cemeteries of Montafia and the hamlet of Bagnasco di Montafia)

On top of a hill outside the town of Cortazzone, stands the Church of San Secondo, a typical example of the Romanesque architecture of Monferrato, such as the use of bricks and sandstone. But its particularity are the sculptures and decorations that are found both outside and inside the church. Despite some seventeenth-century changes (a brick elevation and the bell gable), we can already see elements on the façade, such as a row of shells, a symbol that indicates the church as a probable resting place for pilgrims along the Via Francigena. The interior, divided into three naves ending in apses, is characterized by sculpted hair, often roughly but all different, where figures of fantastic, hybrid, chimeric animals stand out. It seems that the sculptors were left free to create, following more instinct than guidance. To visit together with the parish church of San Lorenzo di Montiglio.

Very pretty and well maintained Romanesque church with carved capitals located on a hill where you can enjoy an excellent view of the surrounding hills. In case it is closed there are references (addresses and telephone numbers) to retrieve the keys and be able to visit it.