Sasso Mobile

The parish Church of Roffeno is one of the oldest and most famous in the Bolognese Appennine Mountains. The structure was rebuilt from its foundations in 1155 and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and Saints Peter and John, a typical configuration for small Medieval churches. The aspe has been called one of the most beautiful in our diocese. Built in 1155 by the Tuscan master builders, the Comacinis, they left their mark in the form of a Florentine lily carved into a sandstone block on the western side of the aspe itself. Inside we find a baptismal font, most likely of 7th century Lombard origin, which belonged to the church which stood on the site before 1155. The sandstone basin is decorated with a crown of dolphins, holding one another by the tail. Baptism is the sacrament which connects Christians with Christ, who was symbolized by a dolphin in the early days of Christianity. There are two opposing theories regarding the date of the font. Some claim it is clearly the work of the Lombards (7th century), dating the church to the same period, while others attribute it to the 11th or 12th century. The accounts of its function are likewise discordant: while currently being used as a baptismal font, its original function must have been entirely different, as in those days baptism was carried out by total immersion. A recent hypothesis suggests that it was used to accept offerings, similarly to \"Pilate's Basin\" found in the St. Stephen's church complex in Bologna.