Remains of St Biagio's Church in Rovereto, Italy

A great way to enhance outdoor activities is to go Geocaching. I've written before about this fun hobby and you can read about it in this post,  "Fun Things to do on a Walk- Geocaching" In a nutshell people hide things called caches, mark the spot with coordinates, you  track the location with a GPS and once located, you sign the log and record your find online. What I really love about Geocaching is that it takes us to places we never would have ventured to on our own.

While visiting the town of Rovereto, located at the southern edge of the Alps in Italy, we found one such spot.

Chiesetta di S.Biagio

At least what's left of St Biagio's Church!

According to the informational signpost St Biagio's Church is from the 11th century and was doing quite well until it was damaged by artillery fire in 1916. Then in 1940 a bomb pretty much signaled the end of the church. All that remains is a little of the foundation and the beautiful Romanesque bell tower.

Seeing this bombed out church with the bell tower still standing reminds me of the resilience of faith. To be damaged not only once but twice and yet not completely destroyed.

How easy it would have been for the town's people to finish knocking down and clearing this plot of land and yet they chose to leave the remnants of this church. Perhaps as a reminder to future generations of the consequences of war. 

It's a peaceful place. To get to the remains of the church you have to take a walk through a small neighborhood and then take a trail up the side of a hill. Once on top there are picnic tables and a grassy area for the kids to play and the remains of the church. The entire spot is surround by a fence and has lovey views of the mountains and the town below. 

If you're in the area and would like to check out St Biagio's Church grab your GPS and plug in the coordinates. You might even find the hidden cache!

N 45° 51.159 E 010° 59.491