HISTORY
The atmosphere of the Oratory of San Giorgio is particularly suggestive and intimate thanks to its quiet dimensions, together with the refined play of the architectural elements. The Romanesque monument is rather old, cited as a dependant of the parish of Guastalla in a document of 1070, in a list of the property the Marquis Bonifacio di Canossa received from the Bishop of Reggio Emilia. But it is presumed that its foundation was even earlier, perhaps as early as the 9th century. The church flooded several times over the years, because of its proximity to the Po and the instability of the marshy terrain. In 1967, a major restoration was begun, mostly visible on the exterior, which succeeded in returning the building to its fully Romanesque appearance and the original level of the pavement, cleaning up the walls, and strengthening both the façade and the apse.

ART-HISTORICAL NOTES
A church of tiny dimensions, built entirely of brick, the oratory is three-aisled with three apses. The gabled façade is divided into three parts by pilaster strips with semicircular buttresses attached, terminating in semi-cones. The portal is constructed of brick, with the exception of the stone architrave and the marble lunette, featuring a bas-relief of San Giorgio. Above the portal are two recessed lancet windows, surmounted by a cross-shaped window. Between the pilasters, a band of corbel tables runs under the eaves. The pattern of the pilaster strips, linked by the corbel tables repeats throughout the rest of the exterior. Inside, the three apses are covered with a wood-trussed ceiling, the nave divided into five bays by fat brick cylindrical piers, with chamfered-cubed capitals and rectangular bases.