It's strange; we spend our active lives moving from one place to another without ever stopping to simply look at who and what surrounds us.

 

We occasionally immortalize a moment by taking a photo, but seldom do we feel the desire to escape following a fortunate encounter with a stone construction.

 

The Church of San Marco did not come to meet me to tell its story so that one day I could relay it to you and save it from an unjust fate.

 

It stands in the same place for years, centuries, silently calling out to every resident passing through its heart to reach the cemetery, every curious person, every passerby who travels its path without diverting their gaze.

 

How did we get to this point?

It's not the ravages of time that have put our church in this state, but the folly of men.

A rain of bombs aimed at the withdrawal of German troops and the Allied push towards Rome.

 

The rest is a story of neglect, priorities, but above all, ignorance.

The inability to preserve an invaluable historical heritage and share it with future generations.

 

Yet, this church only asks to speak to us. Beneath its structure, an ancient temple dedicated to Saturn, sumptuous stone columns, majestic walls housing medieval frescoes, a Roman domus on its sides, and an amphitheater whose features can only be guessed.

 

Literally sitting on a treasure, the Church of San Marco still has to reveal all its secrets to us.

It's not too late, but time is running out.

 

If we sometimes remember our dreams for just a blink of an eye, we rarely do anything with it. I have this somewhat crazy dream that inhabits me, to see one day the Church of San Marco and its dome proudly shining again over Atina and the Valle di Comino.

 

We eagerly await the start of the first consolidation works (September, if God wills) to secure the existing structure.

 

Once this operation is completed (first funding of 300,000.00 EUR), a gigantic challenge awaits us to obtain further funds, but you know what? We believe in it wholeheartedly and are not afraid of anything!

 

The adventure has only just begun...