Churches and pievi near Anghiari The territory around Anghiari
boasts a number of very early parish churches. These are known
as "pievi" (singular "pieve"), a word derived from the latin
"plebes" (the common people). They were built during the early
phases of christianisation in which baptism was a crucial
element. The pievi remained for centuries the only places
authorised to carry out baptisms. Pieve di Santa Maria a Corsano
The Romanesque parish church of Santa Maria a Corsano is located
near the village of San Leo di Anghiar on the road between
Sansepolcro and Arezzo. It is a 12 C church probably built by
the Camaldulian Order on the foundations of a Roman temple. The
church is next to the old road between Anghiari and Citerna and
near a spring at the top of an ancient river bank. This is where
the River Tiber used to flow before it moved nearer to
Sansepolcro in the remote past. The belfry is unusual in being
positioned in the middle of the front façade instead of at the
back, with the main church entran