HISTORY
The parish church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin is perched above a steep cliff in the town of Rocca Santa Maria, in the province of Modena. The church was built between the 8-9th centuries, in a sacred place that was once the site of a castle belonging to the Marquis Bonifacio di Toscana. His daughter Matilda of Canossa decided to donate the church to the Bishop of Modena, Dodone, in 1108. Over the years, the church has undergone numerous restorations, such as the elevation of the pavement, and the consequent reduction in the height of the columns that subdivide the interior in three aisles. The restorations from the first half of the 20th century returned the church to its Romanesque appearance, following the 18th-century Baroque remodeling

ART-HISTORICAL NOTES
The wall surfaces of Santa Maria Assunta are composed entirely of finely shaped ashlar blocks of local sandstone. The gabled façade reflects the greater height of the nave with respect to the aisles. The surface of the façade is broken only by a single portal and a small bicuspid window at the center. The lateral apses are tiny in comparison to the central one, oriented to the east. The interior wall surface is stone, solid and well-built. It is a three-aisled basilica, divided by imposing and wide round arches, which rest on four low and stubby monolithic columns. These cylindrical piers are the most singular characteristic of this church, causing the nave to appear taller and the arches wider. These columns preserve splendid sculpted capitals, dating to the 11th century, different between each other in both form and composition.