On the slopes of the Punta d’Argento [Silver Point] hill, at about one hundred metres above the San Pietro river, near a disused oil mill, half-hidden by a dense olive grove, lie the ruins of the little church of Sant’Anastasio di Montebello (ninth century). Of this little building there remain only some small portions of the 265-centimentre-deep northern and the eastern walls, the lateral apsidal niches(prothesis and diaconicòn), set into the wall and the central apse (now buried) extending as far as the main floor and which probably protruded outward. Older farmers from the area say that before being destroyed, this church was about 7 meters long, and that its entrance was in the southern wall. The interior must have been entirely frescoed, as testified by the evident traces on the base of the remaining fragment of the northern wall; the prothesis contains traces of a painting of a holy hermit, his right hand raised in blessing. The fresco that adorned the central apse is now practically illegible, except for a small mark and some heads with aureoles. In the diaconicòn there is an image of Saint Anastasios, his eyes slightly almond-shaped, his forehead broad, wearing a monastic headdress that brushes his ears and a pointed, brown beard. Recently the monument has undergone some rather clumsy restoration work.

The Description of the church is by Sebastiano Maria Venoso and has been taken from “Portpàtima” edited by Alfonso Picone Chiodo, Edizioni Apodiafazzi 2015.