Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine

The church of Santa Maria del Carmine is a parish church of the vicariate of Bobbio, Alta Val Trebbia, Aveto and Oltre Penice of the diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, located in the hamlet of Santa Maria di Bobbio in the province of Piacenza.

The earliest settlement was Saltus, located on a hill at the confluence of the Rio Rocca and Rio Salto, which dates back to prehistoric times along with the nearby Neolithic settlements of Monte Groppo and Pianelli. The hamlet's name is recent and derives from the dedication of the parish. The monks of the monastery of Bobbio established a monastic cell there with the oratory of Sancti Bartholomei in Xarto, documented in a monastic estimate of 862. In 1207, the church was dedicated to Santa Maria del Cerreto in Xarto. In the following centuries the settlement was abandoned and there was a gradual relocation to the present hamlet in which the new place of worship, also dedicated to St. Mary of Cerreto, also arose in the 15th century. Of the primitive settlement today no trace remains, partly due to the reuse by locals of the stones for the new settlement.

The present church was erected only in the 15th century and was built outside the village, of an older foundation. The one-nave building was enlarged in 1605, and in the 18th century we have the two smaller aisles. The sacristy and new chancel date from 1767.

The following churches depend on the parish of St. Mary: Oratory of the Blessed Virgin of Caravaggio, in the hamlet of Casteghino, Oratory of St. John the Baptist and St. Henry II Emperor, in the hamlet of Gorra.

The annual feast is July 16, while the patronal feast is held on the last Sunday in July.