The parish church of San Floriano is an ancient parish church located in the municipality of San Pietro in Cariano, in the hamlet of San Floriano, in the heart of Valpolicella.
It is considered one of the most beautiful and best preserved Romanesque churches in the whole Verona area.
Pieve di San Floriano History
The church that can be admired today, built on the remains of an ancient Roman cemetery, dates back to the Romanesque period (11th-12th century), but there are documents that mention the presence of a Lombard parish church in the same place as early as the year 905.
Various restoration works have been carried out over the centuries, especially in the 15th and 18th centuries in the internal part, causing the progressive disappearance of its Romanesque character with the passage of time.
Only restorations that took place in the last hundred years, necessary to restore solidity to the almost dilapidated church, have brought to light the original characteristics of the Romanesque period.
The interior, with three naves, is divided by pillars alternating with columns, which most likely ended in three apses, as is still clearly visible in several Veronese churches of the same era and of the same type, such as the Basilica of San Zeno in Verona.
Outside, the parish church has a facade made entirely of tuff and still almost entirely intact; only the central eye and the two side windows were added to it in a later period.
Particular is the bell tower which is located on the northern side of the church: the base is in light stone, while the rest of the tower develops in height in alternating rows of tuff and terracotta blocks, ending with the terracotta of the bell cell only.