Hortus Artium Medievalium

In a monastery, the organization of buildings is fitted on monks’ life. Edifices are gathered around the cloister, centre of monastic space and of all circulations inside the monastery. Apart from this simple and practical plan, there are other forms of organization, where cult edifices are spread without apparent order, as in Lerins or La Novalaise. Why there are two so different types of organization of monastic space? Where do they find their origins? Through this paper, we take interest in architectural continuities that archeology shows between Roman pagan civilization and monachism of late Antiquity and Middle Ages. Classical buildings, especially the villa, which medieval monks inherited, influenced architectural compositions of monasteries which followed them.

Through the reform of Aachen, introduced by Louis the Pious and Benedict of Aniane, the Benedictine Rule became the normative model of the Carolingian monasticism. The Benedictine Rule leads to an adaptation of the architectural structures and cloistered building, which is reflected in the provisions of the synod and in the Carolingian Capitularies of the first half of ninth century, adapted to the new horizon coming from the Carolingian reform. The comments to the Benedictine Rule of Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel and of Ildemaro of Corbie are a testament to how it happened and they serve as an interpretative ideal tool. In this way, the life of the great abbeys in Europe - as well as the cloistered spaces and the cenobitic places of prayer, of work, of rest, of hospitality or of training - are explained to the monks who design their “cloisters” according to common construction modules always most recognizable and generalized.

Two protohistoric Liburnian graves are the most ancient structures discovered in this year’s campaign which was essentially focused on the sector IV, south of the abbey church of Saint Peter in Osor. This area is particularly rich in medieval built tombs of the monastic cemetery that developed next to the church and a mausoleum. The precise datation of this funeral building, which was being used in the 10^th century, is still to be determined, but it has been confirmed that its construction preceded the foundation of the monastery, for at least few decades. A great many monks have chosen the mausoleum as their burial site.

In the excavations of the first bay of the basilica other tombs were unearthed as well as the rest of the “inner” façade that divided the church from its vestibule. Further excavations of the building B have allowed us to establish its datation (11^th - 12^th century) and to discover some structures dating from Late Antiquity. The most important contribution of this campaign is the confirmation of the existence of the cloister south-east of the church as was suggested by the geophysical survey. Furthermore, the study of the eastern monastic building integrated in the Venetian city wall continued.

The archaeological research carried out on the site of Saint Peter’s monastery in Osor (Island of Cres, Croatia), has recently revealed a small building interpreted as a mausoleum. A distinctive feature of this building is that it contains masonry tombs built prior to its construction, and as a consequence arranged in a regular manner, which have been defined under the term formae. The rareness of this type of funerary installation - according to the inventories - in the Dalmatian Adriatic area, forces us to question its presence in this particular context. In addition, apart from the primary study of the monument itself, the presence of the formae provides us with the opportunity to ask a more general question as to the use of this particular funerary package by looking at discoveries elsewhere in Europe, both historically and more recently, with the aim of providing a comparative study. Through this initial overview we hope, therefore, to determine whether there exists a set body of characteristics, indicative of this mode of inhumation, particularly in terms of dating and use.

The essay is dedicated to the development of the cross-in-square plan (quincunx) in 9^th century architecture and to the relationships between the Byzantine empire and the West. The elaboration of the model presents different variants which prove the vitality of the research carried out by architects during the period. Following a historical path, the examples certified in the West are examined: Santa Maria delle Cinque Torri in Cassino, S. Miquel at Terrassa in Cataluña, the chapel of Germigny-des-Prés built by Theodulf d’Orléans and the chapel of S. Satiro commissioned by archbishop Anspert of Milan. These buildings present architectural similarities and differences and they stem from designs elaborated in Roman times. The examination of the political and diplomatic relations between the Byzantine empire and the Carolingian kings at the end of the 9^th century helps to understand the dissemination of the cross-in-square plan during this period of architectural history.

The analysis of unpublished documentation of the excavations carried out between 1927 and 1932 in the basilica, located in the above ground of the catacomb of St. Januarius at Naples, and the examination of existing structures, paintings and written sources are providing new evidences for the knowledge of the church. The basilica was built several decades after the transfer of the relics of St. Januarius performed by Bishop John I († 432), since the construction of the church resulted in the closure of the access of cubiculum G3 that was already occupied, until the vault, by a complex layering of masonry graves. The architecture of the basilica and the frescoes of the eastern arch of the apse suggest a date between fifth and sixth centuries A.D., while the masonry of the apse refers to the sixth century A.D. Contrary to what has been so far assumed, the frescoed arches found under the central nave of the basilica, seem to belong to an existing church, whose remains were covered at the time of its construction.

In 1940, the church of St. Gertrude of Nivelles was bombed and its roof destroyed by fire. The restoration work gave the opportunity to lead some archaeological research that brought to light its origins and the structures surrounding the mausoleum of Gertrude († 664). The present church has always been seen a homogeneous monument, the one which succeeded to the church burned in the early 11^th century and was consecrated in 1046. The development works, in and around the church between 2009 and 2011, led us to reopen the archaeological record of St. Gertrude. We found that the excavations of 1941 and from 1950 to 1953 had not been published extensively. New observations (using “stone by stone” surveys) were necessary to re-read the construction phases, and demonstrated that the current church keeps elevation parts that are anterior to 1046. At this stage of the study, we identify seven major phases, including the reconstruction dated 1046. The annular crypt, from the third phase, is one of the very first structures built in honor of the saint. The Westbau belongs to a different phase (V) still to be studied. The absolute chronology of the already identified phases has to be further clarified and strengthened by laboratory dating. However, the recent discovery of tiler kilns, at the foot of the Westbau, which last firing has been dated by archaeomagnetic method (around 940), could be put in relation with the construction of phase VI (the church destroyed by fire in the early 11^th century).

All the history books on the Middle Ages mention the famous « Charter of Huy from 1066 », the oldest surviving example of a freedoms charter north of the Alps. In granting this freedoms charter to the citizens of Huy, Théoduin, the Bishop of Liège, (1048- 1075) obtained in exchange the financial resources to achieve his objectives: the rebuilding of Huy-sur-Meuse and its collegiate church, which had been destroyed and ruined in 1053 by the count of Flanders. At the same time, the prelate was readying his own tomb. On August 1066, the grandiose inauguration ceremonies were held in the new church. The eulogy of this monument of Huy De constructione - de consecratione ecclesiae Hoyensis is perhaps missing, but the interdisciplinary approach makes it possible today to reconsider the matter: history, hagiography, architecture, art, liturgy and the sacred spatialization.

Founded by saint Martin towards the end of the fourth century, Marmoutier is one of the very first monasteries in Gaul. It was established on a Roman settlement in use since the first or second century AD and lasted until the French Revolution. Shortly afterwards, most buildings were destroyed, including the vast Gothic abbey church. However, written sources, iconography, standing remains as well as archaeological excavation make it possible to partly reconstruct the organization of the monastery and the transformations of the buildings. In particular, excavation uncovered the two abbey churches preceding the Gothic one. Identified in the seventies by Charles Lelong, these buildings are currently excavated as part of an archaeological research programme initiated about ten years ago. The earliest church was built c. 980 and its plan can be reconstructed with three naves. Several elements referring to liturgical use have been uncovered but their function is not easy to determine. This church was built with both quarry stone and ashlar. Later on, a large crypt was added, using mainly ashlar and showing a rich ornament. Then, the previous church was destroyed - but the crypt kept - to make way to a large Romanesque abbey church in the eleventh century. Finally, the nave was made longer at the same time as a new monastic chancel was laid out.

This paper summarizes the results of my M. A. thesis on the historical and architectural connections the monastery of San Benedetto in Salerno had with Montecassino. The object of the paper is the diffusion of the basilical plan in Campania and generally southern Italy in the Middle Ages - an issue often related to the rebuilding of the abbey of Montecassino by abbot Desiderius (†1087). Here I introduce the hypothesis that the reconstruction of San Benedetto, undertaken in the mid-eleventh century, has neither cultural nor material connections with Desiderius’ project. In fact, I believe that San Benedetto reveals a dependence on southern Italian architectural tradition, in which Byzantium had played a substantial role.

The former Benedictine abbey of St Mary in Arles-sur-Tech (France, Roussillon), founded during the reign of Charlemagne, has conserved its Romanesque church, which was twice dedicated in 1046 and 1157. The edifice stands out in the architectural landscape of the Catalan and more largely Southern Romanesque Ages, by means of its imposing choir with three apses facing west, matching another one that, nearly the same, faces east. This organization raises a lot of questions of different nature, in particular about the link with the previous early Christian and Carolingian edifices.

The Benedictine Abbey of Castione Marchesi, founded as the family monastery of Marquises Pallavicino, is one of the most important sources of information on the evolution of monastic art during the late Romanesque and Proto-gothic periods in Western Emilia (Emilia Occidentale) in Italy. The article discusses the date of construction of this monastic church, comparing it to neighboring coeval monuments, such as the Cistercian Abbeys of Chiaravalle della Colomba and Fontevivo, and the Cathedral of Fidenza. It is possible that the Cistercians transmitted to these monuments some elements from the early stage of French Gothic art that conformed from the very beginning to traditional Lombard Romanesque art, in particular at the Church of Castione Marchesi. The article also describes how the cloister of Chiaravalle della Colomba constitutes one of the earliest examples of reception of French Gothic in Italy, especially in a Telamon in the north-west angle of the structure. By the way, the layperson represented in a capital of the Church of Castione Marchesi may be one of the most rare and significant examples of lay connotation in a monastic ecclesiastic space.

Saint Peter’s church in Corgoloin appears today as a typical church in the outskirts of Cîteaux abbey, stemming from a wave of reconstructions apparently concentrated around the 2^nd quarter of the 13^th century. In this context, the church defines itself by an architectural and decorative synthesis - between Cistercian tradition and Gothic innovation - but also belongs to a locally rare type of churches said « with passages », and so raises, beyond its general conception, a lot of questions particularly inherent in the liturgy and the internal movements of the clergy and the congregation.

The architecture of the military orders in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary-Croatia, in Medieval Slavonia, is a highly complex phenomenon. In many cases (except the churches in Gora and Našice), the attribution of the churches to the building activity of the military orders is based solely on the assumed connection between the estates mentioned in the literary sources and the actual churches built on their vaguely bordered territory. That makes the Templar or Hospitaller provenance of such buildings highly dubious. The knightly orders constitute a significant factor in the definition of the feudal landscape during the 13^th and at the beginning of the 14^th century, but in most cases, much more caution, as well as further research is needed before the final attribution of the medieval architecture existing in that area to the military orders.

Over the last fifty years, significant progress has been made in research of pre-Romanesque sculpture on the eastern Adriatic coast, especially in central Dalmatia and Istria. Relief carvings from southern Dalmatia had not received the same amount of attention until a serious earthquake occurred in 1979 which caused considerable damage to numerous religious buildings in the neighbouring cities of Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Kotor (Montenegro), necessitating repair works during which numerous new relief carvings were discovered. The author of the paper draws attention to the characteristic motifs, the manner of carving, and the epigraphic features which the inscriptions of these relief carvings share. The new finds contribute to a fuller survey of this unique carving school, which was connected by the same author more than ten years ago to a separate stone-cutting workshop, marked by a relatively high quality of workmanship, which operated in southern Dalmatia. The facts evident in the inscriptions on the ciboria from this workshop considerably support the more precise dating of all these relief carvings to the opening decades of the ninth century. The author dedicates special attention to the term propitiatorum, which features in the inscription on one of the ciboria, and interprets its appearance as a direct echo of the Carolingian renaissance.

In 1925, nearby the location of the ancient church of San Martino, a few test excavations were carried out during the foundation of the new facade of the city hall in Padova. These excavations brought to light a number of Early Medieval and Pre-Romanesque sculptural fragments that provided a clear terminus ante quem for the foundation of the church itself. A careful stylistic and iconographic analysis allowed the identification of two main productions and a hypothetical reconstruction of the Carolingian liturgical furniture. The fragments are now stored in the Musei Civici of Padova.

The recent conclusion of the archaeological investigations in the benedictine nunnery of Cairate (a small town between Milan and Varese in the valley of the Olona river) makes a decisive contribution to a better understanding of Romanesque art and architecture in the ‘Contado del Seprio’ (Seprio County, as then this territory was called), until very recent times neglected by scholars of medieval art, with the notable exception of the early medieval site of Castelseprio. The excavations have revealed the structures of the abbey church, a basilical plan ending with three apses, radically transformed in the second half of XVI century. It is now possible to try to replace, at least ideally, the sculptural fragments from the church preserved in various museums of Lombardy (Gallarate; Milan, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and Castello Sforzesco). Variously dated from the eighth to the twelfth century, these fragments can now be certainly referred to the mid-twelfth century building, in connection to a large reconstruction project of the abbey church probably promoted by the bishop of Pavia and the nuns under the patronage of the emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Among these fragments stand out the three reliefs now in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, originally carved in the jambs of a portal, maybe representing ‘ancillae Dei’, consecrated virgins with a lamp waiting for Christ, the mystic groom, a theme present in the oldest liturgical drama known (the ‘Sponsus’).

The figured mosaic pavement in San Tommaso in Acquanegra sul Chiese (eleventh-twelth centuries) is the main subject of the analysis. The church is a former Benedectine abbey and still preserves Romanesque architectural structures and wall paintings, in addition to the mosaic floor defined as «the most charming» by A.K. Porter. Firstly, a map of mosaic fragments and renderings in a 3D reconstruction of the church are presented. Then the analysis focuses on the iconographic subjects and their semantic value, investigated with references to the written culture i.e. Christian literature, classical texts or astronomic and naturalistic treatises. Comparisons to others mosaic pavements and other figurative sources, such as illuminated manuscripts, are given as well. Finally, relationships between figural themes and to architectural and functional spaces are considered: the results suggest that mosaic figures contribute to the ‘hierarchy’ of the spaces in the church, creating a complex image-system.

The restoration of Episcopal Sees within the cities that had remained in Muslims’ hands in the regions of Catalonia and Aragon led to the transfer of some of the Pyrenees Episcopal centres to the newly recovered ones. Our paper aims to survey a question not yet studied, such as the artistic and liturgical transfer of dedications and relics from an ancient See, and displayed on the architecture of the new cathedral. We focus on the case of Roda de Ribagorça and the Seu Vella of Lleida. The cathedral of Roda was completely restored in the second quarter of the twelfth century, both the church and the canonical buildings, together with the construction of the cloister. In 1149, the bishop of Roda moved to the restored See of Lleida, where a few days after the surrender of the city, the main mosque was consecrated as cathedral. From 1203 and throughout the thirteenth century the new cathedral was built including a series of features which belong to Roda, incorporating in the new building the “image” of the old Pyrenees cathedral.

The much debated question of the influence of the pagan basilica on the Christian basilica is concerned with architecture while the wall mosaic has never been included into this discussion. This is the issue that I would like to discuss in this paper. The elevation of the Early Christian basilicas of Rome is organized in an analogous way to the elevations of certain Roman basilicas in Asia Minor (Aphrodisias) and of Rome (Basilica Aemilia). The exclusion of statues and reliefs in the Christian basilica created a vacuum which perhaps favoured the choice of the mosaic and fresco.

On the basis of the reconstruction of K. J. Conant, restitution which is confirmed by a recent critical examination, we should wonder about the atypical disposition of the Majestas Domini, a triumphal Ascension, which occupies the tympanum and the lintel of the great portal of Cluny III. The model of this theophany is italian, inspired by the absidal iconography at the end of the XI^th century, in Rome and around the Monte Cassino: Sant Angelo in Formis and Santa Restituta of Naples. This explains the centric position of the beasts of Apocalypse and the Elders without their crowns. In the same time, the architectural structure of the portal send back to the lateral entrance of the great Mosque of Cordoba and most of all to the absidal arch of the oratory of the mihrab.

Research on the early Christian images have often responded to the need to identify Christian community through art, in roman society. In the catacombs, on sarcophagi or objects of domestic life, the development of a biblical iconography is the field of a double investigation: First, to identify the social level of Christian artistic patronage, and, secondly, to clarify the meaning of some iconographic choices within Christian culture. The question of religious identity is central in historiography on the early Christian images, but the significance of this notion of identity is also correlated with the methods of art historians and their perspective on their subject. Since the 90s, a shift occurs on this topic and it is now possible to reformulate some statements: is the notion of «identity» relevant to understand the first biblical pictures? Some images belonging to the period of cultural and iconographic transition, during III^rd and IV^th centuries, as Jonah’s, can now be thought outside of categories strictly depending on religious identity.

The purpose of the present paper is to show how the antique tradition of the Seven Wonders of the world has been integrated into Christian culture in two rather separate and distinct forms, whether that of a simple enumeration of the wonders such as one finds in encyclopedic textes, or as a reelaborated list based on the seven ancient wonders but now augmented by some new wonders intentded to show God’s power. The first part of the paper will survey the origins of the tradtion of the Seven Wonders of the World and to treat the main authors who passed on the tradition to the medieval world. The second part will be devoted to those late medieval treatises which base themselves on the antique tradition or which take the form of an elaborated list which does or does not form the basis of a religious commentary. We conclude finally by the presentation of some medieval representtions of Alexander the Great’s Lighthouse and the Colossus of Rhodes.

The main goal of this paper is to evidence the narrow relationships between the sculpture of the Master of the tympanum of Cabestany and the Roman sarcophagi from the 3^rd and 4^th centuries. In this way, it is possible to provide evidence of the importance of the Roman funerary sculpture in the training of some Romanesque sculpture workshops of the second half of 12^th century.

The surveys on the history of the countryside have known in the last half century an extraordinary development which has also involved the examination of the sources of art history, the results of which proceed independently in the overall interpretation of the rural landscape. It deals with the state of current historiography, followed by an excursus (IX-XV century) on the sources of art that represent the contexts of the agrarian area with particular reference to the labours of the months (XI-XIII century) and to their cultural references. The essay explains the recurring themes of rural activities and agricultural products, such as the wheat threshing, the grape harvest, the killing of the pig or the presence of wine and bread, which are not read as cataloguing of simple iconographic subjects, but as a didactic tale impregnated by symbolic and religious values , as well as technical practices. The close examination continues, also suggesting connections with the late medieval sources, especially in reference to tacuina sanitatis.

This paper analyzes for the first time the pictorial decoration of the narthex of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill in Rome, discovered during recent restoration works (2010-2012). The decoration, covering the upper part of the church facade, consists of large painted panels imitating a lavish marble revetment. The lower part of the façade was instead decorated with real marble, as indicated in at least one textual source (Ugonio, 1588). The absence of holes, metal clamp, or traces of mortar in the masonry, however, suggests that the wall decoration was made of opus sectile and not of marble slabs. Both historically and stylistically the wall decoration can be dated to the first half of the fifth century, contemporary to the construction of the basilica. This paper also highlights the cultural roots of such decoration, finding then in the continuity with the decorative language of Roman art. Finally, this paper addresses the question of the lavishness of the decoration investigating its cultural, political and liturgical context.

This essay is dedicated to the function of the narthex of the basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome. Starting from a reflection on the “liminal zone”, the use of the atrium or the narthex in the culture and tradition of Late Antiquity will be defined. In this way, the atrium is shown to be a place designed to accommodate the catechumens and penitents. In second place, the manner in which this definition can be applied to the narthex of Santa Sabina will be analyzed. Liturgical sources, epigraphy, but also archaeological data confirm that the Aventine’s narthex was primarily dedicated to the catechumenate and initiatory rites. The wooden door, the only figurative component of the original space, which seems to emphasize precisely an initiatory function, also supports this conclusion.

During 2012-2013 new researches on the church of Santa Maria foris portas were conducted. These include: (a) a stratigraphic analysis of the walls, with particular attention to the plaster and the frescoes of the eastern apse; (b) a revision of the excavation data of the 80s; (c) the excavation of a tomb in front of the atrium of the church; (d) new systematic 14C dating of wood and mortar entrusted to three different laboratories; (e) a study of the historical and artistic cycle of frescoes in the apse east; (f) a study of the graffiti engraved on the frescoes.

The results suggest two distinct phases of construction and decoration of the church. At the latest, that the 14C determinations place in the mid-tenth century, relates the famous cycle of frescoes of the eastern apse.

In the paintings of Galliano, San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura and six Pyrenean churches, the archangels Michael and Gabriel display scrolls on which the words peticio and postulacio or variations of these two terms are written. The recurring use of this vocabulary in comments on the liturgy suggests that these petitions represent the seven demands of the Pater Noster, meaning that the advocate-archangels participate in the heavenly liturgy in the same way as the seraphim and the cherubim who, in Rome as in the Pyrenees, sing the Sanctus. In Galliano, this liturgical dimension can be seen to cover an essential part of the semantic content of the absidal theophany.

Eleven wooden crucifixes from the Romanesque period survive in Naples and the Campania region. The article discusses their liturgical function based on visual and literary sources. The Christus triumphans from Mirabella Eclano provides an excellent example of the meaning assigned to monumental crucifixes within the liturgical setting of the church during the 12^th century. Three documents (11^th to 13^th centuries) attest to special types of donations “pro remedio animae” offered to the crucifix in Naples, where peculiar institutions devoted to veneration of the cross existed since the 9th century. The city has preserved one of the largest surviving groups of medieval crucifixes in Italy that testifies to their varied iconography, size and typology.

The Tree of Jesse, a depiction of Christ's genealogy based on the prophecy of Isaiah (11, 1-2) and on the Gospel of Matthew (1, 1-17), was one of the subjects of the mosaic decoration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, accomplished in 1169. The work has been entirely destroyed, but it is attested in the counter-façade by Late Medieval and Modern sources. On the basis of this evidence, this paper suggests a reflection both on the iconographic model of the biblical theme, probably of Western origin, and its hypothetical formal features, most likely in line with the Byzantine style of the mosaics which are still visible in the basilica. A tentative reconstruction drawing of the biblical theme completes the analysis.

This article proposes a new interpretation of a small portable polyptych in the Moravská Galerie in Brno. This luxurious work of art is believed to be commissioned by Robert of Anjou, the King of Sicily (1309-1343). Heraldry depicted on the background of the central marble statue of the Virgin and Child suggests, however, that the patron was his wife, Sancha of Majorca. Close investigation on the iconography, function and material appearance of the polyptych contradicts the opinion of the Queen’s alleged pauperism and unveils a Neapolitan-Hungarian conjunction.

This study seeks to analyse the forms of perception and worship which aroused amongst late-medieval spectators a series of revered icons in different temples of the Crown of Aragon. It thus aims to deepen our understanding of some images which were initially devoid from a significant number of readings and meanings which, only with the passage of time, they have eventually acquired. In short, it attempts to discern the construction process of the sacred image, of how a portrait of the Virgin or of the Virgin and Child, in the majority of vulgar or mediocre occasions from an aesthetic perspective, came to assume a privileged status in the pantheon of medieval cult images thanks to, the crystallisation of legends; the organisation of liturgical ceremonies; the search for protective objects by local communities; the strengthening of Christianity against other religions or the definition of new prestigious instruments by the powerful. The aforementioned aspects are only some of those which have contributed to the history of the perception of some of the most highly regarded images by the spectators of the late Middle Ages.

From the XIX century, History becomes a political tool in the nationalists political movements. Archaeology and History of Art used to justify the founding myths, because of their history subservient to statutes and serving as scientific « evidence». Any time, all territorial expansion policies seek legitimacy by appealing to the historical argument and that all political and religious orientations and sensitivities combined. The debate is old, but the means and applications usually belong to the same process, even though the uses and motivations can be extremely varied. But it is in France, from the July Monarchy and 1830s, that history is the foundation and reference for the government and the nation. Periods are preferred, making a consensus among historians, archaeologists, writers and politicians. Among them the Middle Ages to the July Monarchy, the Gallic revolt for the empire of Napoleon III, the Hundred Years War and his heroine Joan of Arc after the defeat of Sedan in 1870, or the victory of the first World War which are all best-known and most famous examples. It is interesting to note that contemporary conflicts are mainly based on territorial claims whose justifications are political, racial , ethnic, religious , but consistently show an argument whose schema and operating procedures are identical , whatever the nature the conflict. Instead of archeology and history of art is not neutral and is often used as evidence as we have seen during the Second World War and even today. Archaeologists, or at least their research, are either deliberately set or retrieved either unwittingly apology to such claims.

This paper explores a new perspective on the problem of the origins of the Venetian settlements before Venice’s birth. With an archaeological viewpoint, the author considers the recent excavation data from Torcello (2012-2013 campaigns), integrating modern debates on ecological degradation and anthropological theory of materiality. The attempt is to reconsider the process of Europeanization through the formation of new settlements in the Venetian lagoons at the end of the Roman period.

The paper focuses on the relationship between the environment and the societal structures from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle ages. During this critical period of flux, it is possible to study how ethnic and social groups developed a new social geography and how new political systems and different trade networks shaped the "rising Venice".

The early Medieval stages of the Santa Maria Assunta Basilica in Torcello are documented by sources, archaeological findings, and by elements of its architectural structure.

Whereas the main door’s jambs are unanimously identified as being from the early Middle Ages, the same dating does not apply to the sculptural pieces grafted onto the architectural structure (angular shelves in the apses of the lateral chapels), which can be dated back to the 9^th century, and more specifically to the time of Bishop Adeodato II.

These elements are examined in the context of a new reading of the architectural stages of Torcello’s Basilica - a reading in which the apse area as well as the crypt are dated back to the 9th century.

In the east chapel of the sanctuary dedicated to Saints Victor and Corona (Stefania), near Feltre, is preserved one of the most significant episodes, in the upper Adriatic area, of sculptures entirely decorated with the technique of mastic encrustation, better known as niello or champlevé. The architectonical structure of the martyrium, which still preserves the relics of the two byzantine saints, involves three steps overlapping, of which the median one is opening at the center of the apse with an elegant loggia with capitals decorated all over with motifs finely carved and filled with mastic blacks and reds. All of these works were designed in pairs, and each one was prepared according to a specific project, focused on the arch in the middle of the eastern side with the two capitals adorned by kufic decorations: in fact, in this place there is an opening that puts in communication the interior with the founder’s tomb of the sanctuary located outside. While in the Veneto there are at least two similar sets of capitals, in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice and in San Donato in Murano, is not sufficient to draw a cross-reference with the lagoon area to explain the case of Feltre. Only looking towards the lands of the Byzantine periphery, especially Mesopotamia, Osios Loukas and more generally the Greek mainland, it’s possible to trace the matrix of this strongly characteristic lexicon that distinguishes the workers of Saint Victor.

By the end of the twelfth century the mosaic decoration in the basilica of San Marco in Venice was completed. After the demolition of the galleries (late twelfth or early thirteenth century) the walls which became visible were decorated with mosaics during the first decades of the thirteenth century. Only a part of these mosaics is preserved today. However it is possible to notice the intention to make the new cycles homogeneous with the previous ones. Several decorative patterns are used in order to make these thirteenth-century additions coherent and better connected to the more ancient mosaics. This ornamental repertoire partly recuperates patterns already used in the basilica and partly introduces new typologies of frames.

A Bathing of the Christ Child (fig. 5-6) is reconstructed from two fragments, one in the Chiostro di Sant’Apollonia of the Museo Diocesano di Venezia and the other in the Galleria Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro. These sculptures in the round belong to a large Nativity Cycle in pietra d’Aurisina that was carved in Venice during the second quarter of the 13th century. A number of pieces, including the Adoration of the Magi in the Seminario Patriarcale di Venezia (fig. 3) and the Dream of Joseph on the facade of San Marco (fig. 4), are still preserved. They have been compared with the same scenes on the portal of the Cathedral of St. Lawrence in Trogir (fig. 1-2), which an inscription records being carved by Radovan in 1240. The comparison between the Bathing of the Christ Child, which plays a major role in Radovan’s Nativity, and the Bathing in Venice calls for a reassessment of the connections between the portal of the Cathedral of St. Lawrence and the Nativity Cycle from San Marco. The article argues that the sculptures in Trogir and Venice were the result of concurrent but largely independent artistic developments.

Since at least 1976 and the publication of Wolfgang Wolters’ La scultura veneziana gotica (1300-1460), art historians and the general public have been familiar with the label ‘Venetian sculpture’. As often happens with winning paradigms, however, even this ostensibly straightforward label risks being misused. We might in fact succumb to the paradox of interpreting most of the sculptural production of the late-medieval period in the Northern and Central Adriatic Basin as ‘Venetian’ or as ‘influenced by Venice’. Yet, this is not always the case. By discussing four lesser-known Central Adriatic case studies, this article highlights the need to begin to speak of an ‘Adriatic sculpture’ of the late-medieval period.

The essay investigates the tomb of the Beato Pacifico in the Franciscan church of Venice, the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The funerary monument, set up on the right transept of the church by 1437, is analysed from a stylistic and typological point of view. The author pays particular attention to the fundamental role played by the commissioner of the tomb, Scipione Bon, whose coat-of-arms are exhibited on the tomb itself and who is buried in a humble tombstone on the ground level, under the huge funerary monument. Iconographic details and the method of management of the relics of the Beato, seems to suggest a precise intervention directed by Scipione who, through his patronage, aimed to show his family undisputed prestige.