Sasso Mobile

Saint Ansanus’s Church is among the oldest anywhere around Bologna. The earliest records of its existence date back to 1056, but it is supposed that the church was actually built sometime before the year 1000. During the Middle Ages it was under Bolognese direction and around the year 1300, became the head of about 30 churches, until it was taken over by Pianoro in 1600. Between 1850 and ’60, it was renovated into its current form thanks to the construction and handiwork offered by the community. The trunks of the cypresses in front of the church still bear scars left by explosives set off by the Germans retreating during World War II. Inside, in addition to the main altar, displaying a 17th century Bolognese School painting of Saint Ansanus with John the Baptist and the Madonna and Child, we find four side chapels. The surrounding hillsides, a moonscape of sandstone badlands, are full of characteristic “calanchi,” dramatic cliffs and ravines including a 30 meter tall one known as “il dente” (the tooth).