Oratorio della Crocetta, Cento

The Oratory of the Crocetta, a small devotional building, is located in the locality of Penzale, 4 km from the town of Cento, precisely positioned at the intersection of Penzale and S.Orsano streets. Pentagonal in shape, it was most likely built even before the 14th century. The oldest evidence found in two registers of bulls of indulgence contained in the Inventory and Index of the Writings of S. Croce date to the years between 1388 and 1390.

It is so named not because it was related to the cult of the Holy Cross, but because it was located on a crossroads of roads that connected Bologna-Ferrara and Il Brennero to Lucca via Verona and Modena.

La Crocetta was a stopping place for pilgrims and was the main destination for penitential processions of flagellants. The nickname given to the oratory by villagers is that of: "the little church."