HISTORY
A legend reports that the church of San Pancrazio di Russi was built by the empress Galla Palacidia. The oldest written record of it comes from 963. A later date of 1058 is recorded on a marble inscription on a pier and could refer to the church’s first consecration. The church’s architectural style is very similar to San Pietro in Sylvis in Bagnacavallo, and it could date anywhere from the 9-10th centuries. In 1944 the apse and three arcades of the nave were partially destroyed. However, even before the destruction, the church had undergone heavy Baroque reconstruction, with the addition of lateral chapels and a vaulted ceiling. The present building was rebuilt after the war, attempting to restore its older appearance, and recovering the wood roof. The present pavement is more elevated than it was originally and the walls have been plastered, although the 11th-century fresco cycle has been lost.

ART-HISTORICAL NOTES
On the exterior, the three aisled church displays a brick wall surface and four pilaster strips  that reflect the structural division of the interior. The nave is dimensionally imposing over the aisles. Above the portal is a thin lancet window. The apse is round on the inside and polygonal on the exterior. The church displays an architectural style that is typical of the area of Ravenna. The sides are decorated with pensile arches and thin lancet windows. The plan of the building is not perfectly symmetrical, although not visible to the naked aye, and thus the church appears simple, harmonious and proportional.