The shortlist / Italy / Santa Maria del Rivo
Photo: Immobiliare 7 Valli, via Immobiliare.it. Click the large photograph to see it full size.
227 years old
Santa Maria del Rivo
Santa Maria del Rivo, Ponte dell'Olio, Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
A hill church of 1799 with its rectory attached, above the Nure valley south of Piacenza. The nave keeps its painted vaults, cornice and door. Someone began turning the rectory into a house, put a new roof on, and stopped years ago with one corner of the church fallen.
Our verdict
Fifty-five thousand euros buys a painted church of 1799 on a hill above the Nure valley. The agent says, in the advert, that it needs €600,000 to €800,000 after that. I respect an agent who writes that down.
Somebody tried to make a house of it and ran out of money or permission. Find out which. If the papers are in order, the plan is simple: rebuild the corner, save the paintings, live in the rectory and keep the church as a church.
What is wrong with it
- A corner of the church has collapsed and is held by props and scaffold.
- The agent's own estimate for the works is €600,000 to €800,000. That is eleven to fifteen times the price.
- The top storey of the rectory was rebuilt in concrete block. On a protected building, ask for the permits for that work before you offer.
- The apse paintings are coming off the vault in sheets.
- No sewer and no gas.
- The nave is being used as a store for timber, crates and machinery.
The story
- 1799The parish archive records the building of the church, according to the agent. It has a gabled front and a bell tower on the left side.
- Date not knownThe church was deconsecrated and passed out of parish use.
- Some years before 2026An owner began converting the rectory, raised the attic to make another floor, rebuilt the roof and some of the floors, and then stopped.
- April 2026The listing was last updated, at €55,000.
This is all we have. The date comes from the agent, who cites the parish archive. We found no published history of the church, no name for a builder or painter, and no date for the deconsecration. The diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio and the parish at Ponte dell'Olio are the places to ask.
What it needs, and what it might cost
- Safe and dry
- €59,000 to €113,000
- Everything on the list
- €594,000 to €793,000
- Each year after that
- €2,500 to €5,000
The agent puts a complete renovation at €600,000 to €800,000. The lines below are our split of that figure across the work the photographs show. The paintings are our own addition.
What the photographs show
- The front is a plain gable in brick and stone with patches of old render. The bell tower stands on the left with an open belfry and a small cupola.
- A new roof with deep timber eaves sits over the whole building. Under it at the back, the top storey has been rebuilt in grey concrete block on the old stone.
- The back wall of the rectory is open in places from floor to roof. Scaffold stands against it and timber props hold the upper floors. Weeds have grown through the scaffold.
- One rear corner is new stonework and block from the ground up. This is the corner that fell.
- Inside the church the vault is whole. Iron tie rods cross it at the springing. There are stains but no holes.
- Pilasters and cornice run round the nave. The pilasters were painted to look like marble and much of that paint has gone.
- The apse vault is painted in ochre and blue and the paint is lifting in large flakes. A timber frame with a pediment surrounds an empty niche.
- The nave is full of stacked timber, crates, a band saw and a refrigerator.
- In the rectory, floors are stripped to the joists and the new roof timbers rest on scaffold. A stair has lost its treads.
- The views from the site run over fields and vineyards to a flat plain.
The work, line by line
| Now: safe and dry | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Report by a structural engineer and a conservation architect, with a search for the permits behind the stopped works | €4,000 to €8,000 | Our assumption |
| Shore and rebuild the fallen corner of the church and close the open walls at the back against the weather | €45,000 to €85,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| Finish the roof edges, gutters and downpipes on the new roof | €10,000 to €20,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| Next: fabric and glass | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidate the load-bearing structure with new main walls and tie it to current seismic rules | €180,000 to €240,000 | From the listing |
| Conserve the painted vaults, pilasters and apse in the church | €50,000 to €90,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| New windows and doors throughout | €25,000 to €40,000 | From the listing |
| Later: interior and services | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Fit out the rectory: floors, wiring, plumbing, bathrooms, heating and a private treatment plant for the drains | €280,000 to €310,000 | From the listing |
Yearly upkeep, €2,500 to €5,000. Insurance, property tax, gutters, and keeping the bank and the lane clear.
Grants. Owners of protected buildings in Italy can claim tax relief on approved restoration costs, and the culture ministry can contribute to them. Ask a commercialista what applies in the year you start.
Condition, as the listing describes it
| Structure | Needs consolidation of the load-bearing structure, with new main walls. One corner of the church has given way. | From the listing |
| Roof | The roof and some of the floors have been rebuilt. Work stopped several years ago. | From the listing |
| Interior | Frescoed vaults in the church. Everything else needs redoing: services, drains, bathrooms, windows, floors. | From the listing |
| Services | Mains water and electricity. No gas. No mains sewer. | From the listing |
| Energy certificate | Pending. | From the listing |
These are our rough estimates and not quotes. Nobody from this site has been inside the building. We measured from the listing, looked at its photographs, applied published local rates for 2025 and 2026, and raised them for scaffolding, height and heritage rules. Figures are for works only, before architect's fees of 10 to 15% and VAT. Rot, structural movement and asbestos do not show in a photograph. How we estimate.
The seller
Not stated. The listing does not say who owns it. An unfinished private building project suggests a private owner. Ask the agent.
What you may do with it
Light use. The building is protected and every job needs the Soprintendenza to approve it first. Keep the church as one painted room. The rectory behind it is already half rebuilt and can become somewhere to live.
Sacred status
| Consecration | Described as a deconsecrated church. No date or decree is given. | Unknown |
| Dedication | Santa Maria. The hamlet takes its name from the church. | From the listing |
Heritage status
| Protection | "Vincolato dalla Sovrintendenza": under a State heritage restriction. | From the listing |
| What that means | Works need written authorisation from the Soprintendenza for Parma and Piacenza. The State has a right of first refusal for 60 days after any sale of a protected building. Have the notary confirm both. | Unknown |
| Seismic rules | The agent says the works must meet current anti-seismic rules. | From the listing |
What comes with it
| Floor area | About 600 square metres on three floors and a basement. | From the listing |
| Church | Nave with frescoed vaults, sacristy and bell tower on the ground floor. | From the listing |
| Rectory | Entered from the sacristy and from outside. Four large rooms on the first floor and an attic above. | From the listing |
| Land | 860 square metres, of which about 400 are usable. The rest is a bank. | From the listing |
The dead
| Burials | None mentioned. The old cemetery of Santa Maria del Rivo is a separate site, on the culture ministry's register of abandoned heritage. | Checked by us |
Getting there
| Road | On the first hills above Ponte dell'Olio, in the province of Piacenza. A paved lane reaches the building. | From the listing |
| Train | Not stated. | Unknown |
People to call
- Selling agent: Immobiliare 7 Valli, Piazza Primo Maggio 17, Ponte dell'Olio (reference 410PO)
- Heritage authority: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Parma and Piacenza
"From the listing" means the seller's agent says so. "Checked by us" means we confirmed it against a public record, linked where possible. "Unknown" is a question to put to the agent before you visit.