The bell tower
The distinctive feature of S. Donato is the bell tower. It is a particular bell tower, typical of the early Romanesque period, (called "Nolare" because, probably, it was built the first time in Nola) built in place of the lantern, that is, the covering of the vault that is built above the main altar. It is a rare architectural element, typical of the Cistercian and Cluniac abbeys, but in Liguria it was used several times in the XII century: in the churches of SS. Cosma and Damiano, of San Bartolomeo del Promontorio and San Fruttuoso di Portofino, all of them less monumental than S. Donato.
The postcard, 1960, fits to the words of Alizeri, 1846: «Bell tower which rises from a powerful base behind the choir; hexagonal, and serious in its forms, and rounded throughout the stem: a pure example of Lombard architecture."
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