Vigolo Marchese - San Giovanni

Vigolo Marchese, a village with a population of about 400 and today a part of Castell'Arquato, must have been of some importance in medieval times. Here is a large Romanesque church - and a baptistery, built in the early 11th century. Documents prove that in 1008 a Benedictine convent was founded here, funded by Oberto, Marchese d´Orta, who even had the relics of Saint Hippolyt transfered to the church.

A baptistery next to a convent´s church is very unusual. Some scholars claim it may be older than the church. It may have been built on the foundation of a Roman temple and used as an oratory by the monks, before it was transformed into a baptistery. It obviously withstood the earthquake from 1117.