The Eremo di Tizzano, that is, the sanctuary of the Santissimo Crocifisso of the parish of Santi Giovanni Battista e Benedetto, is a church in the hamlet of Tizzano, in Casalecchio di Reno. Building of the monastery began in 1655 at the wish of the Camaldolese monks, and the works ended only around 1741, when the church was consecrated to St Benedict. In 1799 the French Directory closed the old church of Tizzano, dedicated to St John the Baptist, and the hermitage church became the parish in its place: that is why it has two patron saints.
What to see
Outside, the style is a simple and elegant Bolognese Baroque. On the left side rises the bell tower, built in 1724 and once lived in by the prior. In the large meadow at the back you can see the remains of two of the seventeen cells of the hermit monks; from there you also reach a secondary little church, a kind of consecrated cellar, which served as a shelter during the Second World War.
Inside, the single nave, high and bright, is surrounded by six side chapels linked by narrow passages and decorated with paintings. The most important work is a wooden crucifix in the second chapel on the left, datable to the second half of the sixteenth century: at its base is a reliquary which, according to tradition, holds fragments of the True Cross.
Visiting
The church is closed because of structural problems: in 2026 it was still closed for inspection and consolidation works. Before going up it is worth asking the parish about the reopening.
Our editors' tip
Even with the church closed the climb is worth it. The hermitage stands on a hill of 243 metres, in a hamlet of very few inhabitants, and from up there the view ranges over the Bolognese plain: on the right the Reno valley, opposite the sanctuary of San Luca. The crucifix is celebrated on 3 May, with greater solemnity when it falls on a Friday.
