Church of San Girolamo
The parish church that preserves the memory of the Bonfire of San Nicolò
Origins and Architecture
The oratory of San Girolamo was founded on July 28, 1449, and completed five years later. It was the seat of the parish from 1528 to 1604, when the ancient parish church of Santa Maria was destroyed and replaced by the church of San Michele in 1605.
During the Second World War, San Girolamo was the only church in Tossignano to survive the bombings that devastated the village in 1944-45. This extraordinary survival has allowed the preservation of an important witness to the religious and civil history of the village.
Gallery
Artistic Heritage
High Altar
The presbytery is dominated by an altar in polychrome marble with floral inlays and houses the wooden statue of San Girolamo, recently restored thanks to the volunteers of the Pro Loco.
Devotional Canvases
The side chapels preserve eighteenth-century canvases dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary and San Nicolò, testimony to the deep popular devotion.
Organ and Sacred Music
The choir houses a nineteenth-century pipe organ, restored in the nineties, used during solemn celebrations and for choral concerts that animate the Tossignano winter.
Traditions and Community
Every December 6th, on the occasion of San Nicolò, a procession of schoolchildren accompanied by teachers traditionally departed from the church of San Girolamo, with lit torches until the lighting of a large bonfire. This rite, documented as early as 1676 in the chronicles of the historian Sanzio Bombardini, represented a symbol of thanksgiving to the patron saint.
The embers of the bonfire were then used by the people to heat their homes during the winter. This centuries-old custom continues today to represent one of the most important moments of the Tossignano community, a symbol of protection and good omen.
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