Column of San Cristoforo

The column San Cristoforo is located on the homonymous hill of Atessa.

The hill San Cristoforo It is called by the Atessanes with the Holy Spirit since once stood the Monastery of the Holy Spirit of the Celestines founded in 1341 by Blessed Roberto da Salle. It is located right behind Piazza Garibaldi, the main square of Atessa.

It was built in 1657, as certified by bibliographical sources (Memories for the annals of Atessa, 6 manuscript volumes by Father Tommaso Bartoletti), in honor of San Cristoforo Martyr whose protection was invoked during the plague of 1657. In fact, on the hill, when the epidemic broke out, a lazaretto was established. Before the war, the hill was a pilgrimage destination on the occasion of the feast of the Ascension of Mary, and people went to pray at a nearby shrine with an octagonal plan. It was seriously damaged during the Second World War but was restored in 1955.

The column, completely brick, is composed of two floors of four sides each of which has a whole-six arches. At the end of the second floor there is a frame on which the statue of Our Lady is in prayer.

Originally the four sides were decorated with bas-reliefs and paintings that told some episodes of life San Cristoforo and was overcome by a lion. With the passing of centuries unfortunately bas-reliefs and paintings were lost while the lion was transfused.

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  The hill San Cristoforo
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  The statue of San Cristoforo at night