The 12th-cent nave seen from the empore over the 10th-cent west entrance, photo RWFG
A History of Romanesque Architecture
Early Romanesque 1000-1100 AD
France
France,
Saone-et-Loire,Tournus, Abbey St Philibert
950-1120
The
12th-cent nave seen from the empore over the 10th-cent west entrance,
photo
RWFG
The building is an example of the First Romanesque style of Burgundy, which expands the Carolingian idiom with early Gothic forms in beginning of the 11th century.
Following a fire, Abbot Bernier (1008-28) undertook the reconstruction of the abbey church, this work continuing during the 11th century and the early years of the 12th century. The nave was vaulted under the abbacy of Pierre I (1066-1107) and the dome was erected between 1107 and 1120. The west entrance, for which Bernier was responsible, underwent substantial changes while being built.
The interior of St Philibert is argueably one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in France. Exemplarily restored.
France,
Charente, Saint-Savin sur Gartempe
11th-12th century
The
barrel-vaulted main nave painted with frescoes.
Photo
Wikipedia
The Romanesque church was begun in the mid-11th century. The otherwise architecturally unremarkable cruciform church houses an extraordinary fresco cycle. The transept was built first, then the choir with an ambulatory and five radial chapels in the polygonal apse. In the next building campaign, three bays of the nave were added, the bell tower and its porch, and finally the last six bays of the nave. The bell tower is finished by a fine stone spire more than 80 meters high, added in the 14th century (and restored in the 19th century).
.....The Ceiling Frescoes
The
vast number subjects displaid are often difficult to decipher but
their presentations are unique. A complete painted Bible!
For an
expanded, annotated (in French) collection see: art-roman.net
The
Apocalyptic Madonna
Abel
and Cain (right) present God their offerings
God
announces the deluge to Abraham
photo francetrip.web
France,
Angouleme, St. Pierre Cathedral
1017, 1128
The
sculptural decorations of the west façade of St. Pierre
photo
structurae.de
A first cathedral was built on the site of a primitive, pre-Christian sanctuary, in the 4th century. It and a second building were destroyed by warfare.
A third cathedral was then constructed under bishop Grimoard, abbot of Saint-Pierre de Brantôme. The new church was consecrated in 1017. However, at the beginning of the 12th century the citizens started to consider it too small for to the wealth of the county. The designer was bishop Gerard II, one of the most important French figures of the time, who was a professor, Papal legate for four popes and also a notable artist. Works began about 1110 and finished in 1128.
The façade is decorated by
more than 70 sculptures, organized into two decorative themes, the
Ascension and the Last Judgement, which are cleverly intermingled.
Christ is portrayed within mandorlas, while two tall angels address
the apostles to show them the celestial vision. All their faces, as
well as those of the other faithful under the arches, look toward the
Redeemer; vice versa, the damned, pushed back in the side arches and
turned into Satan's victims.
Wikipedia
France,
Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel
Norman, 1022-1135
The
island with its famous church at high tide
Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called "monte tombe". According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger....
The mount gained strategic
significance in 933 when William "Long Sword", William,
Duke of Normandy, annexed the Cotentin Peninsula, definitively
placing the mount in Normandy. Norman Ducal patronage financed the
spectacular Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent
centuries.
In 1067, the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel gave its
support to duke William of Normandy in his claim to the throne of
England. Norman Ducal patronage financed the spectacular Norman
architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries. It was rewarded
with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel.
William de Volpiano, the Italian
architect, who had built the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, was
chosen as building contractor by Richard II of Normandy in the 11th
century. He designed the Romanesque church of the abbey, daringly
placing the transept crossing at the top of the mount. Many
underground crypts and chapels had to be built to compensate for this
weight; these formed the basis for the supportive upward structure
that can be seen today. Today Mont-Saint-Michel is seen as a
Romanesque style church.
Wikipedia
France,
Charente, Poitiers, Notre-Dame-la-Grande
1030
Notre
Dame la Grande after the restoration of 1995
The church is mentioned in the 10th century, under the name of "Sancta Maria Maior", referring to the Romanesque church of the same name. The whole of the building was rebuilt in the second half of the 11th century and consecrated in 1086 by the future Pope Urban II.
The west front adorned with statuary is a masterpiece of Romanesque art. It depicts passages from the Bible. The selected scenes, taken from both Testaments, tell the Annunciation and the Incarnation of God on earth in the person of Jesus Christ.The Romanesque frescoes in the interor do not survive apart from those in the apse vault above the choir and in the crypt.
An extensive restoration began in
1992: the stones were cleaned in the laboratory and were reinstalled.
The inauguration of the restored frontage took place in 1995.
Photo
and text Wikipedia
Conques,
Aveyron, Cathedral Ste. Foy
1030-1060
The original monastery building at Conques was an eighth-century oratory built by monks fleeing the Saracens in Spain. It became an important stop-over along the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The original chapel was torn down in the eleventh century in order to facilitate the creation of a much larger church as the arrival of the relics of St. Foy shifted the pilgrimage route from Agen to Conques.
The
Transept
The second phase of construction, which was completed by the end of the eleventh-century, included the building of the five radiating chapels, the ambulatory with a lower roof, the choir and the nave without the galleries. The third phase of construction, which was completed early in the twelfth-century, was inspired by the churches of Toulouse and Santiago Compostela.
The
grotesque golden reliquary enshrining the head of the Virgin
Saint
photos RWFG,
1993
The relic, St. Foy's head was stolen
from Agen by a monk of Conques. It was considered the head of a
virgin girl martyred
by her father. The jewel-studded, golden reliquary is now housed in a
small museum. Don't miss it! Catching a glimpse of this reliquary was
the main goal of the pilgrims who came to Conques. The reliquary
contains a piece of a skull, which has been authenticated to be a
fifth-century Roman head, possibly the head of an emperor, mounted on
a wooden core and covered with gold sheet.
Wikipedia
Jumieges,
Abbey de Notre-Dame
Norman, 1037 - 1067
The
romantic ruins of Jumieges Monastery
photo Michel
Cheron Panoramio
Once one of the great Benedictine abbeys of France, Jumièges was founded in 654 by Saint Philibert and within 50 years housed 700 monks and 1,500 lay brothers.The Abbey was extraordinarily wealthy. Inevitably, such a rich institution was a target and Jumièges was attacked regularly by Viking raiders between 841 and 940.
Rebuilt in the 11th century and consecrated in the presence of William the Conqueror in 1067, it once again became rich and powerful, as well as a major intellectual centre known for its Scriptorium where monks worked at their stunning illuminated manuscripts.
Destruction came with the Wars of
Religion (1562–98) between catholics and protestants, and then
the French Revolution which effectively meant the end of the Abbey.
In 1793 the ruins of the abbey were sold at auction to a timber
merchant who wanted it as a stone quarry.
About.com,
Wikipedia.fr
France,
Haute-Marne, Saint-Etienne de Vignory
1049-1059
Interior
of the church, photo
thais.it
The church of Saint-Etienne Vignory,
dedicated to Saint-Etienne is a rare and remarkable transformation of
Carolingian Romanesque architecture. The first stone was laid in 1032
by Guy de Vignory, first lord of the dutchy. The church of
Saint-Etienne is one of the few buildings in the north of France at
the very beginning of the Romanesque era that has passed into history
without having undergone profound changes (except adding in the 15
th-16 th centuries five chapels opening onto the south aisle of the
building).
Wikipedia
France,
Caen, Normandy
....St. Etienne,
Abbaye aux Hommes, 1057
....Ste
Trinite, Abbaye aux Dames, 1062
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The Abbey of Saint-Etienne, also known as Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey"), is a former abbey church in the French city of Caen, Normandy. Dedicated to Saint Stephen ("Saint Étienne"), It is considered, along with the neighbouring Abbaye aux Dames ("Ladies' Abbey"), to be the most notable Romanesque building in Normandy.
Both churches built in Caen stone during the 11th century, the two semi-completed buildings stood for many decades in competition. An important feature added to both in about 1120 was a ribbed vault, used for the first time in France. The two abbey churches are considered forerunners of the Gothic. The original Romanesque apse was replaced in 1166 by an early Gothic chevet, complete with rosette windows and flying buttresses. Nine towers and spires were added in the 13th century. The interior vaulting shows a similar progression, beginning with early sexpartite vaulting (using circular ribs) in the nave and progressing to quadipartite vaults (using pointed ribs) in the sanctuary.
The two monasteries were finally
donated to the church by William the Conqueror and his wife, Matilda
of Flanders, as penalty for their marriage against the Pope's ruling.
William was buried here; Matilda was buried in the Abbaye aux Dames.
Unfortunately William's original tombstone of black marble, the same
kind as Matilda's in the Abbaye aux Dames, was destroyed by the
Calvinist iconoclasts in the 16th century. His bones were scattered
during the French Revolution.
Wikipedia
The original spires of Ste. Trinité
were destroyed in the Hundred Years' War and replaced by less
striking balustrades in the early 18th century. The vault was
demolished and rebuilt in 1865. The nuns were chased from the
premises during the French Revolution but returned in 1820. The
church was last restored between 1990 and 1993.
Wikipedia
France,
Burgundy, Anzy-le-Duc Monastery church
1070
Anzy-le-Duc
the church, Photo RWFG
The former Cluniacensian monastery church in this tiny hamlet is built from a deeply honey colored stone that glowed in the afternoon light. Exceptionally well preserved sculptures. Its floorplan followed almost exactly that of Charlieu and became the origin of the floorplan of Vezelay all in the spirit of Cluny.
France,
Loiret, Saint Benoit sur Loire
1073
Once one of the influential Benedictine monasteries in France. Begun in the 7th cent, plundered and burned by the Normans, later invaders, and the French Revolution, the 11th century Cathedral of Our Lady is all that remains. St Benedict is buried here.
Main
side entrance
photoss Panoramio
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France,
Bouches-du-Rhone, Abbaye de Montmajour
10-13th cent
Cloisters
and courtyard, photo johnrock
Panoramioio
Montmajour Abbey (French: Abbaye Notre Dame de Montmajour) is a fortified Benedictine monastery built between the 10th and 13th century on what was then an island five kilometers north of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence, in the south of France.
The Abbey is noted for its 11th-14th
century graves, carved in the rock, its subterranean crypt, and its
massive never finished church, now in ruins. It was an important
pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages, and in the 18th century it
was the site of a large Maurist
community The abbey is cared for as a historic monument by the Centre
des Monuments Nationaux.
Wikipedia
France,
Berry, Nohant-Vic, St. Martin de Vic
12th cent
The
church, photo Panoramio
The small village church houses an unusual Romanesque fresco cycle rediscovered under whitewash in the 19th cent. - George Sand lived in Nohant-Vic.
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Germany
Germany,
Trier Dom St. Peter
326, 1017-1035
West
side of the present cathedral, photo Christian
Millen, PanoramioPhoto
The history of the Dom of St. Peter goes back to Roman times, when Roman Emperor Constantine I built a huge basilica over the palace of his revered mother Helena. Construction began in 326 AD.
The Constantinian church was four times as large as the present-day cathedral, covering the area of the cathedral, the Leibfrauenkirche, the Cathedral Square, the adjoining garden, and the houses almost up to the Markt.
After extensive damage in the 5th
and 9th centuries, the surviving part of Constantine's church was
enlarged with major additions in the Romanesque style in 1017-1035.
Gothic and Baroque touches were later added, and the various styles
blend nicely together, bringing a timeless unity to the interior.
Sacred
Destinations
Germany,
Hildesheim, St Michael
1001
InteTThe
Transept, photo Thaïs.it
Abbey Church of St. Michael was constructed between 1001 and 1031 under the direction of Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim (993-1022) as the chapel of his Benedictine monastery.
St. Michael's Church is one of the most important churches in Ottonic (Early-Romanesque) style. It is a double-choir basilica with two transepts and a square tower at each crossing. The west choir is emphasized by an ambulatory and a crypt. The ground plan of the building follows a geometrical conception, in which the square of the transept crossing in the ground plan constitutes the key measuring unit for the entire church. The square units are defined by the "double" alteration of columns and piers. There are 2 entrances on the each apse, and 4 entrances on the north and south side of the church.
Westend
of the Ceiling, photo igougo
Beside the choir and the cloister, the painted wooden ceiling (around 1230) is the most famous of the Church's interior. It shows the genealogical tree of Jesus Christ. Bishop Bernward wanted to construct the pillars of the nave in the Niedersächsischer Stützenwechsel style, which means square pillars alternating with round ones. Above them, the wall closes with the clerestory, whose round arch windows attract the light from outside. Furthermore, light shines through the Gothic windows of the lower aisles beyond the arcade. Their ceilings are stone vaults.
When the Reformation was adopted in
Hildesheim in 1542, St. Michael's Church became Lutheran, but the
Benedictine monastery remained, existing until it was secularized in
1803. The monks would still use the church and its crypt, which
remain Catholic to this day. St. Michael's Church was heavily damaged
by a allied air raid two months before the end of World War II (22
March 1945), but reconstruction was begun in 1950 and completed in
1957.
Wikipedia
Germany,
Hildesheim Dom
Ottonian, 815, 1020-1300
The
West Façade
Interior
the Nave,
The cathedral was built between 1010 and 1020 in Romanesque style. It follows a symmetrical plan with two apses, that is characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque architecture in Old Saxony. After renovations and extensions in the 11th, 12th and 14th centuries, the cathedral was completely destroyed during an Allied air raid on 22 March 1945, and rebuilt from 1950 to 1960.
In 2010, a second modern renovation
was started, which will be finished in 2014. In May 2011, the
foundation of the first cathedral building dating from 815 was found
under the floor of the crypt. The first cathedral building was a
small church measuring 6 x 6 m with an apse in the east. The remains
of the first altar were found in the apse. A grave was discovered
under the foundation, possibly the first bishop of Hildesheim was
buried here.
Text and photos Wikipedia
Germany,
Mainz, Cathedral St. Martin (Mainzer Dom)
Ottonian,
976-1037
The
Cathedral towering above the roofs of town, photo
mycardscollection.com
Mainz Cathedral is predominantly Ottonian Romanesque in style, but later exterior additions over many centuries have resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today. It comprises three naves and stands under the patronage of Saint Martin of Tours. The eastern squire is dedicated to Saint Stephen.
St. John's Church, then St. Salvator, consecrated in 911 by Archbishop Hatto I, served as the cathedral for the Bishop of Mainz until the appointment of Willigis as Archbishop of Mainz in 975.
During Willigis' time, the city of Mainz flourished economically. Willigis became one of the most influential politicians of that time, he even was regent of the empire between 991 and 994. He ordered the construction of a new cathedral in the pre-Romanesque Ottonian architectural syle, finished in 1037.
The new cathedral consisted of a
double chancel with two transepts and two altars, the western one for
the mass, the other for emperor Henry IV. The main hall was built in
the typical triple-nave "cross" pattern. As was usual at
that time no vault was included because of structural difficulties
relating to the size of the building. Six towers rose from the
church. A cloister was enclosed in the structure and a small
freestanding church, St. Mary's Church, connected by a colonnade.
This small church developed later into the collegiate church of St.
Maria ad Grada.
Wikipedia
Germany,
Würzburg, Dom St. Kilian
1040 - 1225
The
church seen from the cloisters,
photo Klaus
Rommel, Panoramio
The present cathedral, built from 1040 onwards by Bishop Bruno of Würzburg, reckoned to be the fourth largest Romanesque basilica in Germany, is the third church on the site: the previous two, built in about 787 and 855, were respectively destroyed and severely damaged by fire. After Bruno's accidental death in 1045, his successor Adalbero completed the building in 1075. The side aisles were remodelled in about 1500 in Late Gothic style. The stuccoist Pietro Magno decorated the cathedral in Baroque stucco work in 1701.
The greater part of the building collapsed in the winter of 1946 in consequence of the Allied bombing of Würzburg on 16 March 1945. Reconstruction was completed in 1967, in the course of which the Baroque components were removed in favour of a re-Romanisation.
The new interpretation emphasizes
the contrast between the surviving historical parts of the structure,
resulting in a sometimes controversial combination of predominantly
Romanesque with modern and Baroque elements. The Neo-Romanesque west
front with a rose window, the tripartite gallery, and the opening for
the clock were revealed during the reconstruction in 2006. In 1988
the choir was redesigned by Hubert Elsässer.
Wikipedia
Germany,
Island Reichenau, Mittelzell
816, 1048
The
abbey church at Mittelzell
The oldest parts of the cathedral
St. Mary and Marcus – the easternly transept and the chancel –
go back to the Carolingian church, which was consecrated in 816. The
western transept (the so-called Markus church and site of the Markus
altar) was consecrated in 1048. The nave originates in the 12th
century, and the roof truss, which is today visible again, in the
years 1236/37. The church was completed with a gothic choir in the
15th century, and in 1742 the Baroque choir fence was installed.
From
Götterdämmerung.org
Germany,
Hirsau Abbey
1059
The
cloisters and tower of the former abbey church, photo by
Mast, Panoramio.
Ruins of the Benedictine monastery
that was once among the most influential in Europe. Founded in about
830 by Count Erlafried of Calw and re-founded, after a period of
decline, in 1059 by abbot William of Hirsau, who brought it to
international prominence as the origin of the Hirsau Reforms. It was
secularised in 1558, and the buildings were destroyed by the French
in 1692.
Wikipedia
Germany,
Cologne, St Gereon
Ottonian 1067-1227
St.
Gereon, photo Wikipedia
Begun in 1067, it features the
largest dome in the Occident built in the time between the erection
of the Hagia Sophia and the Florence Duomo. The oval dome, being 21.0
m long and 16.9 m wide, was completed in 1227 on the remains of Roman
walls, which are still visible. The dome is also notable for its rare
decagonal structure
Wikipedia
Germany,
Gandersheim Stiftskirche
1100-1168
Westwork
Gandersheim, photo thais.it
In the collegiate church the
original Romanesque church building is still visible, with Gothic
extensions. It is a cruciform basilica with two towers on the
westwork, consisting of a flat-roofed nave and two vaulted
side-aisles. The transept has a square crossing with more or less
square arms, with a square choir to the east. Beneath the crossing
choir is a hall-crypt. The westwork consist of two towers and a
connecting two-storey block; it originally had in addition a
projecting entrance hall, also on two storeys, the "paradise".
The present church building, which has been subject to restoration in
the 19th and 20th centuries, was begun in about 1100 and dedicated in
1168. Remains of the previous building are incorporated into the
present structure.
Wikipedia
Germany,
Speyer Dom
Ottonian, 1030-1103
Speyer
Cathedral, photo Panoramio
Begun
in 1030 under Emperor Conrad II, with the east end and high vault of
1090-1103, the imposing triple-aisled vaulted basilica of red
sandstone is the "culmination of a design which was extremely
influential in the subsequent development of Romanesque architecture
during the 11th and 12th centuries". As the burial site for
Salian, Staufer and Habsburg emperors and kings the cathedral is
regarded as the symbol of power of the “Roman Empire of the
German Nation”. With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, it remains
the largest Romanesque church. It is considered to be "a turning
point in European architecture", one of the most important
architectural monuments of its time and one of the finest Romanesque
cathedrals.
Wikipedia
Germany,
Abbey Maria Laach
1093-1177, 1225
The
Abbey Church, photoP
japoo, Panoramio
Maria Laach Abbey (in German: Abtei Maria Laach, in Latin: Abbatia Maria Lacensis or Abbatia Maria ad Lacum) is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. Founded in 1093 as a priory of Affligem Abbey (in modern Belgium) by the first Count Palatine of the Rhine Heinrich II von Laach and his wife Adelheid von Orlamünde-Weimar, widow of Hermann II of Lotharingia, Laach became an independent house in 1127, under its first abbot, Gilbert.
The abbey structure dates from
between 1093 and 1177, with a paradisium added around 1225 and is
considered a prime example of Romanesque architecture of the Staufen
period. Despite its long construction time the well-preserved
basilica with its six towers is considered to be one of the most
beautiful Romanesque buildings in Germany.
More : Wikipedia
Germany,
Worms Cathedral St. Peter
1125-1181
Worms
Cathedral, photo Lonely
Planet
With Mainz and Speyer, Worms is one of the three great imperial cathedrals on the Upper Rhine. The Cathedral of St Peter (German: Wormser Dom) was the seat of the Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Worms until its extinction in 1800.
The origins of Worms Cathedral go back to early Christian times. The first Bishop of Worms was Berthulf, in 614 AD; his cathedral was much smaller than the present one. Under Burchard (1000-25), the most notable Bishop of Worms, a new Romanesque cathedral was built on the site. It had similar measurements to today's cathedral and some of the original parts survive. The cathedral was a burial place for the Salian royal family, who had a castle in Worms well into the 11th century. These can still be seen in the crypt.
A century later, Burchard's building was replaced by the present cathedral, an even more splendid High Romanesque structure. The east section was the first part to be built, in 1125-44. The nave was constructed 1160-70 and the chancel was mostly completed by 1181, when the cathedral was consecrated. The west end was the last to be built, at the end of the 12th century.
During the Middle Ages, numerous
visits from the Emperor and many important events, some with serious
political consequences, took place in the cathedral and it
surroundings.
Wikipedia
Netherlands,
Maastricht, Cathedral San Servatius
7th, 11-13th cent
The Cathedral and the “Vrijthof”, photo virtualtourist
The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, facing the town's main square, Vrijthof.
The present-day church is probably
the fourth church that was built on the site of the grave of Saint
Servatius, an Armenian missionary who was bishop of Tongeren and died
allegedly in 384 in Maastricht. A small memorial chapel on the
saint's grave was replaced by a large stone church built by bishop
Monulph around 570. This church was replaced by a larger pilgrim
church in the late 7th century, which was then replaced by the
present-day structure, which was built in several stages over a
period of more than 100 years. The nave was built in the first half
of the 11th century, the transept in the second half of the century,
and the choir and westwork in the 12th century. The Romanesque church
was built during a period in which the chapter of Saint Servatius
kept close ties to the Holy Roman Emperors, which resulted in a
building that has the characteristics
of a German imperial church. The dedication of the church in 1039 was
attended by emperor Henry III and twelve bishops.
Wikipedia
Italy
Italy,
Milan, Sant'Ambrogio
386, 1080-1140
Entrance
and Atrium photo Wikipedia
The Basilica of St. Ambrose was begun by Bishop Ambrose around 385 and consecrated in 386. The church was built on a grand scale over an existing cemetery, next to the martyrium of St. Victor. Two local martyrs provided the relics for the altar, and Ambrose was buried next to them after his death on April 4, 397.
The original basilica has been
excavated beneath the existing building. Surviving foundations
indicate it had two side aisles, a marble floor, a semicircular apse,
and a four-columned baldacchino over the high altar. The west facade
has not been located so the exact length of the nave is unknown, but
it had at least 13 bays.
Sacred
Destinations
Italy,
Ancona, Genga, San Vittore
1007-1011
The
fortified church, photo Pthais.it/architettura/romanica/
The church of San Vittore alle Chiuse (1011) is an interesting example of Byzantine architecture. The plan is a Greek cross inscribed in a square a format widely spread on the Adriatic side of the peninsula, especially in the Marches and in the southern regions.
Italy,
Udine, Aquileia, Cathedral
4th cent, 1031-1079
Aquileia,
The floor mosaic and the apse fresco, photo Panoramio
Aquileia was founded as a colony by the Romans in 180/181 BC along the Natissa River, on land south of the Julian Alps but about 8 miles north of the lagoons.
During the 4th cent AD, Aquileia maintained its importance. Constantine I sojourned there on numerous occasions. It became a naval station and the seat of the Corrector Venetiarum et Histriae; a mint was established, of which the coins were very numerous, and the bishop obtained the rank of metropolitan archbishop. A council held in the city in 381 was only the first of a series of Councils of Aquileia that have been convened over the centuries. At the end of the 4th century, Ausonius enumerated Aquileia as the ninth among the great cities of the world, placing Rome, Mediolanum, Constantinople, Carthage, Antioch, Alexandria, Trier, and Capua before it.
The Aquileia Cathedral is a
flat-roofed basilica erected by Patriarch Poppo in 1031 on the site
of an earlier church, and rebuilt about 1379 in the Gothic style by
Patriarch Marquard of Randeck. The façade, in
Romanesque-Gothic style, is connected by a portico to the so-called
Church of the Pagans, and the remains of the 5th century Baptistry.
The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a noteworthy mosaic
pavement from the 4th century. The wooden ceiling is from 1526, while
the fresco decoration belongs to various ages: from the 4th century
in the St. Peter's chapel of the apse area; from the 11th century in
the apse itself; from the 12th century in the so-called "Crypt
of the Frescoes", under the presbytery, with a cycle depicting
the origins of Christianity in Aquileia and the history of St.
Hermagoras, first bishop of the city.
Wikipedia
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Various parts of the 4th cent mosaic floor of the main nave. |
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Italy,
Apulia, Bari, Cathedral St. Nicola
1087-1197
Interior,
photo Wikipedia
The basilica was built between 1087 and 1197, during the Italo-Norman domination of Apulia, the area previously occupied by the Byzantine Catapan of which Bari was the seat. Its foundation is related to the stealing of the relics of St. Nicholas from the saint’s original shrine in Myra, in what is now Turkey.
The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by granite columns and pilasters. The presbytery is separated from the rest of the edifice by mean of three arches supported by columns of Byzantine influence. Above the aisles is the matronaeum, a tribune gallery for women, opening into the nave. The basilica was the first church of this design, setting a precedent which was later imitated in numerous other constructions in the region.
Italy,
Apulia, Otranto Cathedral S Annunziata
1088
The façade of Otranto
Cathedral, Photo Julianna Lees
notice
the Greek Cross!
The Cathedral, consecrated in 1088, a work of Count Roger I adorned later (about 1163), by Bishop Jonathas, with a mosaic floor; it has a rose window and side portal of 1481. The interior, a basilica with nave and two aisles, contains columns said to come from a temple of Minerva and a fine mosaic pavement of 1166, with interesting representations of the months, Old Testament subjects and others. It has a crypt supported by forty-two marble columns. The same Count Roger also founded a Basilian monastery here, which, under Abbot Nicetas, became a place of study; its library was nearly all bought by Bessarion.
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Many more photos: lessing.com
The floor mosaic is the unique feature of Otranto: A Tree of Life covering the entire floor of the central nave overflowing with fantastic biblical, historical and mythological scenes interwoven with representations of the twelve months It was commissioned in 1163 by the archbishop Gionata and was carried out by the monk Pantaleone, the headmaster of the painting school at Università di Casole (was he a converso from Islam?). Pantaleone wanted to represent the human drama through the never ending struggle between Good and Evil, virtue and vice (Manichean?). He lived at a time when in Apulia Eastern Christian and Saracene (Islamic) religions coexisted and different cultures met.
Trani,
Apulia, Norman Cathedral San Nicola Pellegrino
1094-1240
The
apsidal side of mighty Trani Cathedral, photo by
arquitotal, Panoramio
The main monument of Trani is the Cathedra dedicated to St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, a Greek who died in Trani in 1094 while on his way on pilgrimage to Rome and who some years later was canonized by Urban II. It lies on a raised open site near the sea and was consecrated, before its completion, in 1143. It is a basilica with three apses, built in the characteristic white local limestone. It has also a large crypt and a lofty tower, the latter erected in 1230-1239 by the architect whose name appears on the ambo in the cathedral of Bitonto, Nicolaus Sacerdos. It has an arch under it, being supported partly on the side wall of the church, and partly on a massive pillar. The arches of the Romanesque portal are beautifully ornamented, in a manner suggestive of Arab influence; the bronze doors, executed by Barisanus of Trani in 1175, rank among the best of their period in Southern Italy.
Spain
Spain,
San Baudelio de Berlanga
975-1125
The
chapel. Photo by
santiul, Panoramio
The hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga was constructed around 975 at the very frontier between Islamic and Christian lands.
Frescoes
in its interior. Photo by
VICMAEL, Panoramio
Its interior was transformed 150 years later with the addition of two cycles of vibrant wall paintings. The upper walls of the church were decorated with a series of scenes from the life of Christ, while the lower sections include boldly painted hunt scenes and images of animals, all of which derive from earlier Islamic objects.
The
Temptation of Christ, ca. 1125, photo: The Cloisters Collection,
Metropolitan Mus. New York
The fresco was transferred to canvas and sold to the Cloisters Museum, New York. It was later exchanged against the apse of St. Martin-Fuentiduena and is now in the Prado, Madrid.
The
apse of the church of St. Martin, Fuentidueña
was sold by the Spanish government, dismantled, and moved stone
by stone to the Cloisters Museum in New York (1957-60) in exchange
for the above fresco.
Spain,
Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey
7th
cent, 1000–1073
Silos
Abbey
Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey (Spanish: Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos) is a Benedictine monastery in the southern part of Burgos Province in northern Spain. The monastery is named after the eleventh-century saint Dominic of Silos. It dates to the Visigothic period of the 7th century. In the 10th century, the abbey was called San Sebastián de Silos, but acquired its current name when Santo Domingo was entrusted to renovate the abbey by Fernando the Great, King of Castile and León. The abbot designed the church to have a central nave with two side aisles and five chapels attached to its apse and transept. When Santo Domingo died in 1073, work on the church and the cloister was handed over to Abbot Fortunius, who saw the rest of the construction to its completion
The monks of Santo Domingo are
famous for their Gregorian Chant. Listen to
YouTube together with a video of the Monastery (3.30
min).
Wikipedia
Spain,
Palencia, Fromista, Church of St. Martin de Tours
1066
The
Romanesque church of Fromista, once part of an Abbey
photo nacho
riestra, Panoramio
St. Martin is a Romanesque church, originally part of a now disappeared monastery. Its three-level façade shows the different heights of the nave and aisles of the interior. It is flanked by are two cylindrical towers, while over the crossing rises an octagonal dome. The nave and the aisle, covered with barrel vaults, end in three apses.
It is built on a basilica plan with
three naves separated by piers. The apses are embellished with good
medieval sculptures, including a 13th century Christ in the nave.
Some of the capitals have motifs of vegetables, human figures or
depictions of stories, such as that of Adam and Eve or the Fox and
the Grape.
Wikipedia
Spain,
Palencia, Olmos de Ojeade, Church of Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos
1075-1128
Church
of Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos, photo Pby
diegourdiales, Panoramio
It was the church of a monastery belonging to the Order of Saint James. Its structure is in the shape of a Latin cross, with a single nave, a transept under a tower and a sanctuary comprising three semicircular apses with the largest in the centre. There is a belfry above the gable at the foot of the church.
Highlights of the elements still surviving today are the lovely ashlar stones and the structure of the apses, particularly the central apse, featuring two buttresses and divided into three segments containing semicircular windows with archivolts.
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Mozarab inspired capitals in the church, photos flickriver
Also worth mentioning are the
sculpted elements to be found throughout the the church: on the
archivolts and capitals, on the openings in the sanctuary, on the
three pointed archivolts on the south door, and on some of the
capitals inside the church. The carved motifs include the chessboard
design known as ajetrezado jaqués, animal and plant motifs
(birds, lions), small heads, biblical scenes, etc.
The church has
recently ben converted into museum.
spaininfo/conoce
Spain,
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
1075, 16-18th cent
The
Cathedral today
Construction of the present
cathedral began in 1075 under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile
(1040–1109) and the patronage of bishop Diego Peláez. It
was built according to the same plan as the monastic brick church of
Saint Sernin in Toulouse, one of the greatest Romanesque edifices in
France. It was built mostly in granite. Construction was halted
several times and, according to the Liber Sancti Iacobi, the last
stone was laid in 1122. But by then, the construction of the
cathedral was certainly not finished. The cathedral was consecrated
in 1128 in the presence of King Alfonso IX of Leon. The early
Romanesque core was over the 1000 years of its existence encrusted
with Gothic and Baroque additions until it looked like in the photo.
Wikipedia
... El Camino de Santiago - Chemins de Saint-Jacques – St. James' Way -Jakobsweg
The
Pilgrim Routes leading to Santiago de Compostela
For
a larger map click on the image
During the Middle Ages, the route
was highly travelled. However, the Black Death, the Protestant
Reformation and political unrest in 16th-century Europe led to its
decline. By the 1980s, only a few pilgrims per year arrived in
Santiago. Today, the route attracts a growing number of modern-day
pilgrims from around the globe. The route was declared the first
European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October
1987.
Wikipedia
England
England,
Ely Cathedral
630, 1083-1107,
1187
The
Cathedral in the Cambridgeshire fens. Photo Wikipedia
The present cathedral was started by
Abbot Simeon (1082–1094, brother of Walkelin, the then bishop
of Winchester) under William I in 1083. Building continued under
Simeon's successor, Abbot Richard (1100–1107). The Anglo-Saxon
church was demolished, but some of its relics, such as the remains of
its benefactors, were moved to the cathedral. The main transepts were
built early on, crossing the nave below a central tower, and are the
oldest surviving part of the cathedral. Construction work continued
throughout the 12th century. The Western transepts and tower were
completed under Bishop Ridel (1174–89) in an exuberant
Romanesque style with a rich decoration of intersecting arches and
complex mouldings.
Wikipedia
England,
Durham Cathedral
Norman, 1093-1135 and 1490
The
Norman interor of Durham Cathedral
The present cathedral was designed
and built under Norman William of St. Carilef (or William of Calais)
who was appointed as the first prince-bishop by William the Conqueror
in 1080. Since that time, there have been major additions and
reconstructions of some parts of the building, but the greater part
of the structure remains true to the Norman design. Construction of
the cathedral began in 1093 at the eastern end. The choir was
completed by 1096 and work proceeded on the nave of which the walls
were finished by 1128, and the high vault completed by 1135
Text
and photo Wikipedia
England,
Peterborough Cathedral
Norman, 1118-1193, 1250
The
nave of Peterborough Cathedral
Although damaged during the struggle
between the Norman invaders and local folk-hero, Hereward the Wake,
it was repaired and continued to thrive until destroyed by an
accidental fire in 1116. This event necessitated the building of a
new church in the Norman style, begun by Abbot John de Sais on 8
March 1118. By 1193 the building was completed to the western end of
the Nave, including the central tower and the decorated wooden
ceiling of the nave. The ceiling, completed between 1230 and 1250,
still survives. It is unique in Britain and one of only four such
ceilings in the whole of Europe. It has been restored twice, once in
1745, then in 1834, but still retains the character and style of the
original.
Wikipedia
The East
Constantinople-Istanbul,
Pammakaristos Church (Fetiyeh Cami)
11/12th cent
The
Parekklesion of the Pammakaristos Church, 11/12th
cent
Few churches in Constantinople have had an as varied history as the Pammakaristos. The Pammakaristos church was converted into Fethiye Cami or "Victory Mosque" in 1591 by Murad III to commemorate his conquest of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy, who had taken refuge in the Pammakaristos at the time of the Ottoman conquest, was transferred to its current location in Fener in the year of its conversion into a mosque.
The fire of Balatkapi damaged the
mosque in 1640. It was repaired in 1845, and finally restored in
1936-38. Abandoned after the restoration, the main space was
re-opened to Islamic prayer only in 1960. The parekklesion, restored
to its pre-Ottoman state by the Byzantine Institute of America, is
now open to visitors as a museum. The obove photo shows mainly the
Parekklision (funeral church) with its copulas.
Text
and photo Archnet.org
Constantinople-Istanbul,
Chora Ekklesia (Kariye Cami)
11th cent
Chora
Ekklesia, photo Text and photo Archnet.org
The Kariye Museum, formerly the Church of the Monastery in the Chora, was outside the city prior to the building of the Theodosian walls, hence its Greek name Chora Ekklesia, Church in the Country. Restored after an earthquake in 557, the basilica was rebuilt in its current Greek-cross plan in the 11th century. Additions, the mosiacs, and other renovations (1316-1321) were sponsored by Theodore Metochites, a scholar and prime minister under Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II. One of the last churches built before the Fall of Constantinople (1453).
Its importance does not lie as much with its architecture but in the mosaics and frescoes which grace its interior and that of the attached Parekklesion.
After it was declared a museum, the Byzantine Institute of Washington D.C. and the Dumbarton Oaks Center of Byzantine Studies restored it in 1948.
......The Mosaics, photos RWFG, 1990
Christ
Pantocrator in the dome (14th cent!)
Christ
and St. John the Baptist
Metochites
and Emperor Andronicus II presenting the church
Georgia,
Mtskheta, Tsveti Skhoveli
1010-1029
Tsveti
Skhoveli the Royal Cathedral of Georgia
Sveti Skhoveli, the royal cathedral of Mtskheta, which was the capital of Georgia from the 8th to the 14th century. Nino, a woman from Cappadocia, brought Christianity to Mtskheta in the 4th century, and the kings made it their state religion in 337, the oldest Christian kingdom in the East. On the foundations of Nino's church Sveti Skhoveli was built in the 11th century. During the following centuries it was enlarged and altered.
This beautiful
cross, chased in gold sheet and mounted on a wooden frame, which is
believed to have been made from Nino's first cross, graces the altar
of the church. At its feet are the burial vaults of the kings of
Georgia down to Wakhtang XIII its last king, who ceded Georgia to
Russia in 1801.
Text
and photos RWFG,1980
Georgia,
Kakheti, Alaverdi Cathedral
11th cent
The
Cathedral in the vinyards of Kakheti
The tall white building of the
11th-century cathedral of Alaverdi rises above the Kakhetian vinyards
. Famous for is proportions: the over-high nave is reminiscent the
contemporary churches of the French Gothic. - A Persian potentate who
made Alaveri his abode, erected the 17th-century fortifications.
During his reign Alaverdi's frescoes disappeared except for a "Mother
of God" (12th cent) in the apse.
Text and photo RWFG
1977.
Turkey,
Tao-Klarjeti, Ishkhani
10th-11th cent.
The
comperatively well restored church of Ishkani
A large
processional cross from Ishkhani (973), cast silver gilded, showing
the sculptural sensibilies of the 10th century: sparse, almost rigid,
nevertheless of great expressiveness. It was saved from the Ottoman
conquest of Tao-Klarjeti in the 16th cent and is now In the Tbilisi
National Museum.
Photo Shalva
Amiranishvili
Turkey,
Tao-Klarjeti, Oshki Cathedral and Monastery
963-973, 11th
cent
Interior
of Oshki Cathedral
Oshki Monastery Church in historic Tao, near Tortum lake in Eastern Turkey is one of the greatest churches of medieval Georgia, a brilliant example of Georgian architecture. Among the monuments of medieval Tao-Klarjeti there is no doubt that Oshki is the first for its historical significance and artistic level.
Oskhi was a monastery from 10th to 16th centuries. The four well-known manuscripts written in Oshki (the Oshki's Gospel, the Kings' Books, the Oshki's Heaven, and the Treasury) provide valuable evidence for the study of the political and cultural life of medieval Georgia and Byzantium. Today the Oshki Monastery consists of the remains of chapels, a refectory, a seminary, a bishop's residence and a scriptorium.
The builders of Oshki were the brothers, King David Magistros, later Kuropalates and Bagrat Eristav of Eristavs. According to inscriptions "Construction of the church was commenced on March 25 of the year 963 on the day of Annunciation" and "took ten years", that is the works lasted from 963 to 973.
The church, dedicated to the St.
John the Baptist, is a domed building with three apses and an
elongated western arm. The dome stands on four freestanding
pillars.
Irene
Giviashvili
