habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

C. Crescenzilargest part by recent aggressions of Islamic fundamentalists.The paintings are to be attributed to two different authors, almostcertainly from different eras. The oldest and simplest images,painted inside the dome and representing the Apostles,have decayed for the ravages of time and the plaster’s poorquality. Amongst the many saints represented in more recentand higher quality paintings of the main hall - whole body figuresstanding rigidly in front position according to the archaictradition, or bust portraits within circular medallions - onlyfew of them can be identified by the surviving traces of the inscriptions:in a clipeus, St. Justin; St. Sisinnius, St. Procopiusnext to an anonymous saint; St. Blaise in a theory of Bishops.The image of St, Justin is the only one still legible between theeight images who used to decorate the upper part of the wallsin the main hall.Two interesting paintings can be quite easily distinguished atthe heads of the round vaulted arms of the cross.In the lunette of the entrance, a Virgin with the Child (an Odegitriatype) is represented seating on a throne with a dosseretbut without a dossal, between two Saints and bidders, the latterrepresented in a smaller scale: according to the medievaltradition, size had to be proportional to the dignity of thefigures. The lunette of the northern arm, which is partiallycollapsed, contains a bust-portrait of a great Archangel withoutstretched wings.The iconography of the Martyrdom of St. Peter represented onthe ceiling of the entry’s arm is quite exceptional Photo 719:the long inscription of nine or ten lines has been unfortunatelydestroyed and it is impossible to be reconstructed, apart fromthe last word, the word “outos” which means ‘himself’, probablyreferred to the saint who is the main character of the scene.The saint stands beside a large cross at the center of the painting,dressed only in a loincloth as all those who were sentencedto crucifixion, while between him and the cross we find thevertical inscription, “O AΓIOC ΠETROS” (ho Aghios Petros).Behind him, there are two holy women, perhaps weeping. Amagistrate is pictured on the other side of the cross, in theochre background that culminates in the figure of a palazzo,standing beside a soldier with scale armor and another character.An inscription on the head of the magistrate, now heavilymutilated, identifies him: NEPO [-] OB [-] ECI [-] EC. Obviouslythe painter or the client knew that Peter had been killedduring the persecution of Nero and involves the emperor to themartyrdom of the saint.Aniconic Church. A second Greek-cross church in Balkan isabsolutely without iconic paintings, which clearly witnessesthat it has been carved during the VIII-IX, right in the middleof the iconoclastic period.The interest for this church arises from its decorative reliefs,generally constituted by medallions surrounded by engravedframes with compact geometric patterns repeated in fake entablatures.In the central field there were crosses with equallengtharms, some of them now missing because chiseled.The clypei have larger diameters on the walls and smaller oneson the ceiling.The arches are all underlined by delicately engravedrings.A beautiful palm with bunches of dates, is carvedon one of the entrance’s doorposts; this is to be interpreted as aquotation from Psalm 92-93, “The righteous shall flourish likethe palm tree”, and so to be considered as a symbol of justice,an appropriate reference for a funeral church intended to acceptthe ones that have been submitted to the divine justiceand so that will flourish in Paradise.The palm is also a recurring motif in the decoration of thebrackets that support or adorn the fake entablatures; thesebrackets are sometimes configured with a cross of expandedarms, or bear similar engraved crosses or palm leaves.It is likely that this very sophisticated and delicate sculpturaldecoration, light as lace, made it impossible, even after theiconoclasm, to cover the walls with plaster for frescoes.Fig. 33 San Pietro e Paolo Church, Balkan. 3D model and section. (prof. C.Crescenzi. students credits: S. Benvenuti, M. Cassone, V. Congedo)Fig. 34 Aniconic Church, Balkan. 3D model: perspective section and axonometry.(prof. C. Crescenzi. students credits: G. Siclari)267volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 267 16/11/2012 15:04:38