Cemmo, (

camunian dialect Eastern Lombard is a group of closely related variants of Lombard language, Lombard, a Gallo-Italic languages, Gallo-Italic language spoken in Lombardy, mainly in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia and Mantua, in the area around Cremona and in p ...

: ''Hèm'') is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' of Capo di Ponte, located right of river

Oglio The Oglio (; or ; , ) is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd place per length (after the river Adda), while it is the 4th pe ...

, beneath the Concarena. It was one of the first settlements in

Val Camonica Val Camonica or Valcamonica (), also Valle Camonica and anglicized as Camonica Valley, is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the c ...

, as it can be deduced from the numerous

rock drawings A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

that have been found here; nowadays it has a population of about 600. It hosts the Pieve of Saint Syrus.

Territory

The town is located on the right side of river Oglio, north of Clegna creek.

History

Local feudal lords

Noble families which obtained

feoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...

on the town from the local bishop:

Historic center

The historic center of Cemmo hosts many old buildings with numerous portals, gable roofs and courtyards. The town originally possessed four main defensive doors that give the name to the annual event "''4 Porte 4 Piazze''" ("4 doors, 4 squares"). The town's main squares are: Just beyond it is the district "Furen," a group of old houses located in the vicinity of the remains of an ancient furnace, living examples of traditional rural camuna. On the opposite bank of the river Clegna covers a green area in the countryside, called "Inimara", full of paths and streets with "orchards" (small gardens fenced). * ''Morciuolo'' square, which holds an old fountain with traditional blanket washing; * ''Pietro da Cemmo'' square, home of the parish church dedicated to St. Stephen; * the small square on Via San Faustino, before the church of Santa Maria; * ''Spiazzo della Berlina'' ("clearing of the limousine"), so named because it used to host the public processes; here was located the old town hall of Cemmo. Much of the town's upper area is occupied by the ''Sisters of St. Dorothy'''s private school and the adjacent convent dedicated to ''Annunciata Cocchetti''. Just beyond it is located the "Furen" ''contrada,'' a group of old houses located next to the remains of an ancient furnace, living examples of traditional camunian architecture. On the opposite bank of the Clegna creek covers a green area in the countryside, called "Inimara", full of paths and streets with ''broli'' (small orchards).

Monuments and places of interest

Religious architecture

Cemmo's churches are: * ''Parish church of Saint Stephen'', 16th century, Lombard-Romanesque architecture. * ''Church of Santa Maria and Elizabeth'', situated on a cliff over the Clegna creek, 12th-13th century. * ''St. Bartholomew's Church of the Umiliati'', 13th century. It was alienated by the suppression of the order in 1570. * '' Pieve of Saint Syrus'', Romanesque age, overlooking the Oglio river. There's also a small church inside the cloister.

UNESCO Heritage Sites

* '' Parco archeologico comunale di Seradina-Bedolina'' * ''Parco archeologico nazionale dei Massi di Cemmo''

Personalities from Cemmo

Giovanni Pietro da Cemmo Giovanni Pietro da Cemmo (15th century - 16th century) was an Italians, Italian painter. Details on the artist's life are very scarce: perhaps born in Cemmo, he was active from 1474 to 1504 in a large area including Brescia and Cremona. Gi ...

(15th-16th century), ''painter
''

Note

References

{{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Brescia