Cenotafio degli Alpini

In 1605 there already existed a chapel called the Church of Gera, located near the old cemetery. The church, after being vandalized, was deconsecrated, restored and reconsecrated in 1610. Subsequently, it suffered acts of vandalism again, being deconsecrated again, restored and readapted for worship in 1732, maintaining the title of Chiesetta della Gera. The management of the church was entrusted to the villagers of the localities of Molino Castana, Poggio Castello, Alliata and some families from the Castello district, collaborators of the local parish priest.

In 1810, restoration work was started and the bones were collected that the Tidone torrent, eroding the right bank, had taken away from the old cemetery. To preserve these remains, an internal trapdoor was created, as indicated by the floor plaque at the entrance. The small church was subsequently renamed Chiesetta dei Morti di San Lorenzo, taking its name from the statue of the Patron Saint.

Between 1983 and 1985, the church was handed over to the local Alpini Monte Penice group, which undertook renovation and structural restoration works. The external space upstream was covered and transformed into a small nave to house the cenotaph of the Alpini of Romagnese, Valverde and Zavattarello, joined to the interior of the church by creating two arched connecting rooms. This structure, made of travertine tiles, is the work of the Piacenza architect and sculptor Perotti, known for his architectural and sculptural works of a religious nature in the Diocese of Piacenza and Bobbio. The new table altar and the ambo (the lectern), both in travertine, are by the same author.

In 1985, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Alpini Monte Penice group, the small church, now called the Cenotaph of the Alpini, was officially handed over to the Alpine communities of Romagnese and Zavattarello for permitted use.

Every year, on the last Sunday of July, the day of the Monte Penice Alpine Group is celebrated, with the celebration of the Holy Mass in honor and suffrage of all the Alpine troops and friends of the Group, followed by a convivial Alpine meeting.