Vecchiano | Nodica, Hermitage of Sconda

In the Sconda valley, in the countryside between Nodica and Vecchiano, is the hermitage of San Piero in Sconda, today visible through the remains of a church with a footpath to the ruins of the hermitage. Today, the perimeter walls of the church are still visible. Inside, some remains of plasterwork with evident traces of frescoes remain.

It was donated by Archbishop Ubaldo in 1205 to the hermit Lutterio so that he could build a church and cells there for himself and his monks. The hermitage did not take part in the process of aggregation of the primitive hermitic nuclei, and chose a life conditioned by scarce income, so it was united in 1263 to the church of St George of the archbishop’s curia. After various passages, in 1495 the hermitage passed to the parish priest of Arena (today Arena Metato). In the archiepiscopal papers after this concession, it is no longer recorded as a church or hermitage. It may have been mentioned in 1596 on the occasion of the visit to the churches of the diocese by the archbishop’s vicar Dal Pozzo, but the register has a lacuna in the passage relating to some churches, including San Pietro di Sconda.

In the village of Nodica is the Church of SS Simone and Giuda, built in the early 19th century on a medieval building of which no traces remain. To the right of the façade rises the massive bell tower, in heterogeneous masonry, which bears an epigraph dated 1319. Inside are three bells tuned in F#3 major. The interior, with a single hall, is decorated in neoclassical style with tall painted columns and two-coloured bands of panels with effigies of saints.