Churches and shrines

The oratory of "Santissima Annunziata" (Sepulcrum Gentis Piancastelli) is located by the municipal cemetry, on the border of the typical local contryside.

The oratory dates back to 1679; the inside is in pure baroque style both for the structure and for the decorations.

This is the earliest parish of the area; it was founded in the IX century by a group of Irish pilgrims that settled here and worshipped St Patrick. From a simple niche for worshippers, it developed into a parish that was modified over the centuries; the current architecture, with a longer nave, a new façade and a bell tower, dates back to the end of the XVIII century. The precious XIX century bell tower mechanism has been recently replaced.

In Barbiano, four kilometres from Cotignola, the old Pieve (rural church) emerges as a balanced Romanesque construction built in the 10th century. The old structure was added at the back of the S. Stefano Protomartire Church by Cosimo Morelli.

The church was built in 1376 and hosts an altar piece of the Veronese painter Felice Torelli (1666-1748), a painting of the bolognese school of the Carracci and a precious tombstone carried out in the XVI century by Pietro Barilotto from Faenza.

The church dell’Oppio, situated in the countryside and is one of the most ancient worship places of Massa Lombarda.

The church of St. Anna on Chiavica di Legno is located in the hamlet of Filo, half-way between the Town of Alfonsine and Argenta.

The building now host the civic Museum “delle Cappuccine” and it includes, on the ground floor, the municipal library, the collection of prints and engravings “Gabinetto delle Stampe”, the historical archives and the natural history museum, while the first floor of the building hosts the museum with artworks spanning from the XV century to the present.

On the front side of the church of San Francesco, the Sforza chapel is connected to the main building with a nice arcade.

This church was built in Neoclassical style in 1881 and was designed by the architect Pritelli, but an older religious building used to be on this site around 1494, probably designed by Bramantino, as some remains of the facade decoration can still be seen in the sacristy.