Sasso Mobile

“Anyone, holding no matter what title, who happens into our fold, shall be required to hold nine perpetual mass celebrations per week in this oratory for the soul of Claudio Achillini, his forefathers, friends and enemies, under pain of eternal damnation, should this obligation fail to be fulfilled, and under pain of other condemnations as contained in the deed drafted by Romanico Albano in 1638. This marble shall attest to this eternally, in lieu of documents, notaries or witnesses.” This sentence, still visible inside the Oratory, was ordered to be carved in marble by the owner of the villa facing it, Villa Achillini. Claudio Achillini was a renowned poet (see Villa Achillini) who had the oratory of Saint Apollonius built in gratitude for having survived “a year of plague, famine and war, 1630.” The building, located in the center of Sasso Marconi, is entered through a doorway delicately carved in local sandstone displaying two winged creatures in the center of the lintel: the Achillini family crest. A plaster cast of Saint Apollonius being crowned by an angel adorns the apse inside.