Church of San Sebastian

The present church was built in 1627 in the Municipality of Forano, and thus under the rule of the Strozzi family,to replace the pre-existing rural one in Colle Nero and probably built at the behest of Paolo Savelli, lord of Forano, to whom we owe the introduction in Sabina of the cult of the warrior saint.

Others date the earliest written records to 1524, also providing a description of the sacred building as it appears in a document from 1574: the modestly sized church was shorter and lower than the present one and had three altars inside, the largest of which was dedicated to the Virgin, the one on the left consecrated to St. Sebastian and the one on the right to Epiphany.

What is certain is that the present church was built at the expense of the population and was later enlarged and restored in 1710 at the behest of Don Stazio Simeoni, a citizen and priest of Forano who also contributed financially to the work. The front part of the church was then demolished and the new structure of the building was configured by raising a new roof and lengthening the nave by more than three meters.

The lacunar ceiling was decorated with frescoes whose scenes reminded the faithful of the saint’s martyrdom. In 1712, again at the behest of Don Simeoni, two rows of mulberry trees were planted which from Piazza Garibaldi (at the time Piazza del Gioco) accompanied the people of Forano to the church of San Sebastiano along the avenue that will constitute the “walk “Outside the door and which still bears the name of Via del Passeggio today.

The roof and ceiling of the church collapsed in 1900. The last restoration dates back to about 40 years ago by Don Giuseppe Ferrante. The traditional “Alarm Clock” is linked to the cult of San Sebastiano with which the traditional celebrations dedicated to the saint begin at dawn on January 20 of each year: the sacred procession runs through the streets of the town accompanied by the music of many of the members of the band club to invite the inhabitants to leave their homes and join the party. The wake-up call ends with an outdoor breakfast offered to all participants by the organizing committee.