Church of the Crucifix
The church dedicated to the Holy Crucifix of Auricarro, originally called Santa Maria della Croce (Our Lady of the Cross), is a silent witness to a distant past but also a living presence of faith, memory and tradition in a developing neighbourhood. This place was once the heart of the hamlet of Auricarro, destroyed in 1349 during an attack by Hungarian militia. Historical proof of this attack is the medieval necropolis found nearby in 1991. Only the church was saved and the inscription on its architrave “Ecclesia sola salva” (Only the church was saved), tells this tale to anyone who passes by. The façade is enclosed by half pilasters and is characterised by its robust buttress with an arched opening. Above the entrance is a recess containing the fresco of the Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St. John, and an arched window. At the top of the church stands a small gabled bell tower. Inside the church, a round arch separates the single nave from the presbytery, raised by one step, and large arches support the roof on the side walls.
The focal point of the building is the main altar, decorated with seven stone bas-reliefs telling the story of the discovery of the Crucifix of Auricarro. Under the altar shelf, the marble antependium depicts the Deposition. In the arched recess in the middle of the back wall is the fig wood crucifix mounted on a pine cross, discovered nearby and venerated by the inhabitants of Palo. On the right hand side of the nave is a second altar with the papier-mâché statue of Our Lady of the Cross, by local artist Gerardo Bitetto. Over time there have been many works of rebuilding and restoration of the church, the latest having been completed recently, involving the rooms at the back of the church. Today the church in Auricarro maintains a strong link with the community of Palo and every year on the third Sunday of September the Crucifix is carried in a procession from the church in Auricarro to the mother church in Palo where the “Festa Grande” is celebrated in its honour, with mass, illuminations and celebrations. On 3rd May, the cross is taken back to Auricarro and after the liturgical celebration and distribution of bread, the Crucifix is replaced inside the church of Auricarro.