Description of the Church of Sant’Ilario
The church of Sant’Ilario is inserted in the walls of the Pisan fortifications, with a singular bell tower with a pentagonal base. Originally with a single nave, the building was enlarged at the end of the 17th century. with the two aisles. The interior corresponds to the Baroque façade, which in the mid-1700s saw the construction of the altar of the Madonna of the Seven Sorrows and in 1874 that of the chapel of the Heart of Mary, adorned with the wooden statue by Antonio Rossi. Also in this church we find in the paintings the typical iconography of the souls in Purgatory and that of the saints who contemplate a picture of the “Virgin and Child”. The recent frescoes are by Eugenio Allori from Elba.
The Castle Church of Sant’Ilario
Almost certainly the castle is of medieval origin and probably dated 1100, when the Pisans, had already become ow island, and had brought the exploitation of the raw materials that were abundant in Elba to its maximum development. On the eastern side, iron ore, and in the Western part, granite that was eventually used for the Baptistery and the Duomo of Pisa.. But the church, although very modest, may be of an earlier period than the village and therefore gave its name to the village. In the brief life of the saint, we can recall a long journey back to Gallia, passing by the Tyrrhenian islands, the memory of this passage probably gave the inspiration to build a church dedicated to the saint.
The Parish of Sant’Ilario
Sant ‘llario’s life was very prosperous over the last two centuries and reached its peak in the eighteenth century for the beneficial influence exerted by St. Paul of the Cross with his apostolic preaching accompanied by miracles. For the number of priests, for the churches, and existing benefits the Gori family outstood among others. In 1745 Father Gian Domenico Gori, built the public oratory of St. Peter Martyr, in the area called La Lammia and with his possessions completed the endowment. In the Parish Church, the two brothers Father Erasmo and Father Simone Gori on, July 9, 1765, erected and endowed the altar of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. In 1874 two other brothers, Father James and Father Francis Gori, erected and endowed the Chapel of the Heart of Mary enriching it with an artistic wooden statue sculptured by Antonio Rossi of Siena. In 1912, thanks to the parish priest Don Teodoro Mannucci, the church was completely restored and decorated (see photos). Other churches and altars were built in Sant’Ilario in the eighteenth century. Father Simone Costa, a native of Marciana and spiritual treasurer of the Parish of Populonia, in 1740, built the public oratory of SS. Trinity, on the land that he owned in the countryside of St. Ilario along the ancient road between La Pile and the town. The chapel was built over a huge granite boulder with a small entrance hall that gave the building the shape of a tau and a characteristic feature, that with little effort could have been preserved. The Oratory of San Martino at Pila, where Mass was celebrated weekly( but no longer), was built in 1752 by Antonio Pazzaglia Prior to the eighteenth century are ve instead the oratories of St. Francis Xavier, under the Calanche, and the Madonna del Carmine, at the center of the village. The oratory of San Rocco, is even prior to this date, and its incomes were, in 1846, merged with the benefit of the parish of St. Lucia, at La Pila. St. Francis Xavier and St. Lucia had annexed a small hermitage. Today some of these oratories are just ruins and the few that remain are n total abandonment, except for the one of St. Rocco.
How to reach the church
La ChiesThe Church is located at the highest point of the village, where the square is also located. Sant’ilario can easily be reached from Marina di Campo and from Procchio , from which it is only 6 km from the first and 7 km from the second.a si trova nel punto più alto del paesino, dove si trova anche la piazza. Sant’ilario è facilmente raggiongibile da Marina di Campo e da Procchio, dal quale dista solamente 6 km dal primo e 7 km dal secondo.