The former church of S. Pietro in Vincoli (or S. Sebastiano), built in the Romanesque period but widely re-managed in the 16th century, has been deconsecrated for some time. The interior was re-managed and divided into several floors to create flats, offices and a discotheque. Traces of the church’s architecture only survive in the façade.
A hole made in the discotheque floor for the laying of service pipes revealed a polylobed pilaster and other structures as well as a blackish layer full of human bones.
The situation was recorded going down for another 50 cms.
The polylobed Romanesque pilaster is very finely made of bricks and semicircular terracotta elements bonded with a good quality whitish mortar. It is covered with light grey plaster with coloured stripes. The visible height is 35 cms; the base is shaped with a projecting edge constituted by bricks which forms a decorative motif. The pilaster stands on a level of rubble fill which probably seals earlier stratigraphy that it was not possible to investigate (due to the restricted nature of the excavation). The floor level corresponding to the original level on which the pilaster stood was not found. Subsequently the pilaster was razed and the church pavement was re-laid at a higher level as attested by a layer of mortar: at the same level a re-build of the pilaster was identified, although in different form, indicated by traces of mortar on the razed level. Other structures stand to the SW and SE of the pilaster.
In a presumably recent period the blackish level was deposited which contained minute fragments of brick and large quantities of human bones: it is possible that this is what remains of a common grave probably wrecked by earlier interventions, as the bones belong to several individuals. Other rubble layers form the base of the present pavement. (Rosanina Invernizzi)