In Italy in the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; ; : pievi) was a rural church with a baptistery, which governed smaller churches in the district. Pieve is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/administrative territory of its the mother church. It has thus become a common component of both place names and of the names of churches.
The Italian word is descended from Latin plebs which, after the expansion of Christianity in Italy, was applied to the community of baptized people. Many pievi began to appear in the 5th century, as Christianity expanded in the rural areas outside the main cities. The term plebs was first used to refer to churches in this context near the end of the seventh century.
In the 9th-10th centuries, pievi were often designed with bell towers.
Churches in Italy Churches in Italy described as a pieve include:
Pieve di Sant'Andrea (Cercina), Tuscany Pieve di Sant'Andrea (Pistoia), in Pistoia, Province of Pistioa, Tuscany Pieve di Sant'Andrea, Sarzana, Province of La Spezia, Liguria in Buggiano, Province of Pistioa, Tuscany
Places in Italy Places in Italy called Pieve include:
Città della Pieve, a commune in the Province of Perugia, Umbria Pieve a Nievole, a commune in the Province of Pistoia, Tuscany Pieve Albignola, a commune in the Province of Pavia, Lombardy Pieve d'Alpago, a commune in the Province of Belluno, Veneto Pieve del Cairo, a commune in the Province of Pavia, Lombardy Pieve di Bono, a commune in the Province of Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Pieve di Cadore, a commune in the Province of Belluno, Veneto Pieve di Cento, a commune in the Province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna Pieve di Coriano, a commune in the Province of Mantua, Lombardy Pieve di Ledro, a former commune in the Province of Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Pieve di Livinallongo, seat of the commune of Livinallongo del Col di Lana in the Province of Belluno, Veneto Pieve di Soligo, a commune in the Province of Treviso, Veneto Pieve di Teco, a commune in the Province of Imperia, Liguria Pieve d'Olmi, a commune in the Province of Cremona, Lombardy Pieve Emanuele, a commune in the Province of Milan, Lombardy Pieve Fissiraga, a commune in the Province of Lodi, Lombardy Pieve Fosciana, a commune in the Province of Lucca, Tuscany Pieve Ligure, a commune in the Province of Genoa, Liguria Pieve Porto Morone, a commune in the Province of Pavia, Lombardy Pieve San Giacomo, a commune in the Province of Cremona, Lombardy Pieve Santo Stefano, a commune in the Province of Arezzo, Tuscany Pieve Tesino, a commune in the Province of Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Pieve Torina, a commune in the Province of Macerata, Marche Pieve Vergonte, a commune in the Province of Verbano Cusio Ossola, Piedmont
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