Once, little square Bethlehem it was the most degraded corner of San Giovanni in Persiceto. Now, it is the colorful heart of this town in the province of Bologna. A town that looks like a village and that, precisely for its own murals, has become an essential stop for anyone passing through here.
The murals of San Giovanni in Persiceto
At the beginning of the Eighties, the municipality of San Giovanni in Persiceto decided to organize a comic cinema event in the then battered piazzetta Bethlehem. However, the houses overlooking the square had faded and peeling walls. So he commissioned to paint them Gino Pellegrino. The Vicenza artist was a name known to Hollywood, for his works in real cult like "Mary Poppins", "Planet of the Apes", "2001 A Space Odyssey" and "The Sword in the Stone". Pilgrims chosen to revitalize them with the technique of trompe-l'œil, representing scenes of country life, farm animals, fruits and vegetables that deceive the eye. Thus it was that piazzetta Bethlehem was renamed "square of Deceptions".
"For children of all ages“: This is the dedication that Pellegrini left. Because, in fact, his painting is fairy and dreamy. It has delicate colors, which seem to be taken from a storybook. And that's not the only reason why San Giovanni in Persiceto seems like a child-friendly town. "City of the Spillo - Historical Carnival", We read on the sign announcing the city (" spillo "stands for" spel ", a nineteenth-century term that indicates"those games that are played in spettacles"). Every year, since 1874, a Carnival is celebrated here with Bertoldo as its protagonist, the character created by that Giulio Cesare Croce by profession storyteller who was born in San Giovanni in Persiceto. During the Sunday of the pins the floats parade in front of the village to the jury, while the following Sunday the awards ceremony are held.
Not just piazzetta Bethlehem: everything there is to see
There are not only the murals, in San Giovanni in Persiceto: by going to the central Piazza del Popolo, it is possible to admire the seventeenth-century church of the Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista, the Town Hall and the Municipal Theater. Piazza Garibaldi instead houses the Church of the Madonna della Cintura with its oratory, and the Palazzo SS Salvatore of eighteenth-century origin. The most characteristic building in the whole town, however, is the Palazzaccio (or Casa dell'Abate), with that typical aspect that characterizes the medieval buildings of the Bolognese area.
Not far from there, the church of Sant'Apollinare is an architectural gem that already existed in the fourteenth century. Then, if you go a little further out, there is the Giovannina castle with the frescoes by Guercino, the Chiesolino (emblem of early XNUMXth century neoclassical architecture) and Ca 'Granda. But, in San Giovanni in Persiceto, there is also space for gastronomy. Here the cuisine is typical of Bologna: tortellini, Tagliatelle with meat sauce, boiled meats, cured meats. And then i ladyfingers from Persiceto, perfect souvenir of a city trip. Made with eggs and sugar, they are among the traditional agri-food products of Emilia Romagna.
Featured photo taken from the Facebook page of the Municipality of San Giovanni in Persiceto
