The mysterious church of San Pietro in Ala - By Paolo Farinati

A journey into the past of our history led by Professor Annalisa Costanzi, member of the Vellutai Cultural Association of the City of Ala

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Sunday 18 October, a pleasant mid-autumn day, slightly cloudy skies, warm sunshine that enticed us to take an interesting trip out of town, specifically to nearby beautiful Ala, the capital of the Lower Vallagarina, in friendly, joyful company.
Our destination is the mysterious ancient church of San Pietro, opened by the Cultural Service of the municipality of Ala.
The meeting point is at around 10 a.m. in Piazza San Giovanni, surrounded by elegant 18th-century buildings, including the Town Hall, which tell us, just by looking at them, of the industriousness, wealth and prosperity in that century created and displayed here by the capable Alensians.
 
 
 
We are joined by Prof. Annalisa Costanzi, a member of the meritorious Vellutai Cultural Association of the City of Ala, who with great diligence and passion have been devoting themselves for several years in total volunteer work to spreading the word about history and getting people to open and visit the palaces of their city.
We make our way through the oldest and most fascinating part of the country, among villages oozing with art and ancient traditions.
We tread for more than a kilometre southwards on the cobblestones of the Via Claudia Augusta, where Roman, Germanic, Central European, and French armies of Napoleon I walked and galloped here, all the way to those who faced each other in the Great War.
 

 
We pass through prized vineyards treading on damp grass until we catch a glimpse of the tall terracotta belfry with bright mullioned windows on each side that speak to us in Venetian of St Peter's Church.
he place is highly evocative, two tall silver pines protect its long history and many legends.
Our guide's tale takes us back to Roman and then Longobard times.

 

There was certainly a military site here from the first centuries after the birth of Christ. In fact, to reach the lands of northern Europe, the Romans also travelled along the Adige River, then a veritable swamp, and needed to change horses and find some refreshment.
It is easy to imagine that where we now admire St Peter's Church was a site that met these needs.
It was perhaps here, a few centuries later, that Theodolinda, daughter of Garibald, Duke of Bavaria, and the Lombard King Autari met and were married in 589 in Verona.


 
History and legend intersect admirably, heightening our imagination. There are those who claim that their marriage was celebrated right here, leaving behind a treasure, which was never found, if not miserably consisting of a few relics.
But it was thanks to the rich and powerful Castelbarco family, who ruled over Vallagarina for several centuries and had the Della Scala family of Verona as allies, that the first part of the church was built in the 13th century.
The precious frescoes still visible on the walls, both exterior and especially interior, date from that time.
Masterpieces saved by patient restoration work a few decades ago and which tell us about the life of St Peter up to his martyrdom in Rome.
 

 
Admiring the stones and the various layers of the floor provides extraordinary confirmation that we are in a place that tells of many historical events and millennial encounters between people of the most diverse ethnicities and beliefs.
Towering above it all is the tall bell tower, which cannot be visited today, and which certainly deserves careful restoration, if only to appreciate the skills of the certainly Venetian craftsmen and to admire from up there the surrounding countryside and mountains.
The visit is packed with news, one almost doesn't want to leave this place.



A small but equally inestimable heritage of history, art and culture, which has survived over the centuries a thousand events, both happy and tragic, with the faith, tenacity and perseverance of St. Peter.
Great credit, we are happy to repeat, must go to the Vellutai Cultural Association of the City of Ala, for the way it has wished and succeeded in preserving this treasure of Trentino history and passionately recounting its centuries-old events.

fonte: https://www.ladigetto.it/Arte+e+Cultura/103906-la-misteriosa-chiesa-di-san-pietro-ad-ala-%E2%80%93-di-paolo-farinati.html