Pieve of Santa Maria in Tenesi

Pieve of Santa Maria in Tenesi

in locality Pieve of Manerba

Pieve of Santa Maria in Tenesi is situated in the hamlet , whose name is closely linked to the role that once clothed this church , parish or mother church of all the churches and chapels of both Manerba and Valtenesi .
The dedication to St. Mary recalls an origin around the sixth – seventh century and the legend connected to the rector Ermoaldo (which to prove his holiness walking on the waters of the lake) , can be placed around the seventh century , suggest a full functionality of the church in the Middle Ages , confirmed in 1145 by the Bull of Pope Eugene II , which riconsoce dependence on the bishop of Verona.
To it are referred to the main sacraments all the churches of the Valtenesi until the fourteenth or fifteenth century, when it became parishes , with its own pastoral and administrative management , although still pper long time sub care of the church: among these was the church of San Felice in San Felice, San Michele in Puegnago, San Pietro in Polpenazze, San Michele in Soiano, St Martin in Moniga, San Giovanni in Cisano, in addition to a number of castles and fortifications.
In 1454 , during the visit of Ermolao Barbaro , the church is not in the best conditions with regard to the building . In the sixteenth century the structure , as stated in the minutes of the visits in 1595 , is mediocre and has different and dangerous cracks.
A good number of altars , or related to the community or pertaining to the wealthiest households , are : S. Antonio , SS.mo Sacramento, S. Rocco , Corpus Christi, S. Stephen and St. James. The dedication of the altar in 1700 is modified : we find that the Mercy and the Rosary, almost all are made of stone , but two that are made of wood .
In the eighteenth century is not the function of the parish. The country has developed more Manerba fact far from the lake and from the parish church , so the location is very inconvenient for both the priests and the faithful , so the Vicinia decides to build a new parish in the district of Solapur , whose first stone is set in 1746 and the consecration in 1781. After the transfer of the parish , the church was dedicated to St. Rocco and opened for worship , especially for Sunday mass to the inhabitants of the village church.
Currently it is open for worship at the feast of St. Rocco and during the summer season for tourists.

The current building of Pieve of Santa Maria in Tenesi is attributable to the XI- XII century. The plan of the church has a structure with three naves , divided into centered arches , and ending in three apses , the central one semi-circular , divided by high and flat pilasters into five compartments , each crowned by a pair of arches , one on the right plant semicircular , and the left with a cell with a rectangular plan . The facade is divided into a main volume , corresponding to the nave and in the bodies of the aisles , lower and slightly behind.