habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

R. Caprarainvestigated, but the results of those investigations may be stillunpublished.HermitagesThe nineteenth century pan monastic hypothesis claimed thatrupestrian sites in Southern Italy had been realized by monksescaping from the iconoclast violence.The archaeological researches in the last three decades haveconfuted this: more ancient presences have testified the contributionof hermitage to the development of rupestrian sites.The hermit and anchorite episodes in Puglia are now undersurvey and study: they are identified through archaeologicalproofs on material and epigraphic culture, or on toponymy.Some episodes are reported as it follows:- the Crypt of the bearded Saint and the Hermit’s cave inMassafra;- the Hermit’s cave in Casalrotto - Mottola (the guardian of theSaint Angel’s Church);- the Hermit’s cave in the village of Petrusico – Mottola- other episodes in other Apulian places.The study of these presences allows further steps towards theknowledge of Apulian rupestrian settlements.It is possible to distinguish anchorite cells (which were generallyisolated and far from the villages) from the hermit cells(which were close to the rupestrian churches guarded by thesame hermits).The Hermit’s cave in Massafra is an anchorite cell. It was isolatedin the medieval woods that occupied the area. It is a wideand regular rectangular hypogeum (m 7,25 x 5,85 x 2,60, witha plain ceiling and a facing south entrance). A circular hole(30 cm) is in the middle of the ceiling, and it was probably the“smoke hole”. A fragment of a square pillar is still visible onthe ceiling.This cave can be identified as an ascetic cave because of thepresence of 23 graffito crosses. It has been probably used bydifferent generations of anchorites: the inscription +AbbasLeon in gothic font (14th century) can be interpreted as a dedicationto a previous anchorite from a successor.The Crypt of the bearded Saint is a hermit cell: the name ofthe cave is given by the figure on the fresco in the crypt. It is inthe ravine of Santa Caterina, close to the church with the samename. The hermit cell is on the left of the corridor that leads tothe church, and it was originally a chamber tomb.The church is m. 4,90 x 2,70, with a rectangular hall (m 1,50x 0,90) (pic. 4). A funerary bed is on the right of the entrance,which may have been reused as the hermit’s bed. Traces ofanother funerary bed are on the wall that faces the entrance.The hermit was probably one of the artists who decorated thechurch of Saint Catherine; he also painted a saint with a wellevident grey beard (probably Sant’Elia the Young, an hermitborn in Enna in 823 and died in Thessalonica in 903) in hiscell.The Guardian Hermit’s cell of the Saint Angel’s church inCasalrotto (Mottola) is visible on the north side of the widepronaos. It is a small rectangular room (4 square meters), witha bed on the western side. A small window, left of the ruinedentrance, was used as a “smoke hole”. This is the only hermitcell that has been investigated by the archaeologists. The findingsinclude a small jar and a bowl from the 14th century, thesufficient furniture for the modest needs of a hermit.Probably, the cell in the pronaos of the Saint Nicholas’ Churchin Casalrotto was also a recovery for the hermit/guardian.The small settlements beside ancient churches (as Saint Candida’sChurch in Bari) are ascetic caves. This small hermitagehas 3 beds in arcosolia, which probably means that three hermitswere living there.The form and the characteristics of the settlement are similarto the other rupestrian settlements, but the presence of thechurch allows the interpretation of this site as a rupestrianmonastery.The same considerations can be drawn for the settlement besidethe rupestrian church in Via Martini (Bari).The small quadrangular hypogeum in an ancient abandonedquarry in Morsara (Santeramo) is an anchorite cell for sure. Ithas been expanded with later works, and it has been reused forrural works until recent times.The room is adorned with arched niches where jars or dailyobjects were placed, a common use in medieval rupestrianhabitations. The hypogeum has a very interesting and rare particularity:under a niche (which probably contained and icon)there is the very accurate graffito monogram ΣΤΑΥΡΟΣ ΦΩΣ(The Cross is light), which somebody interprets as ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣΦΩΣ (Christ is the light). This last interpretation is in line withthe statement of Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoeverfollows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the lightof life” (John, 8:12).These evangelic words were often used in frescos depictingChrist Pantocrator or Christ the Judge in rupestrian churches.Fig. 6 Rupestrian house in Casalrotto, Mottola (TA). Plan and entrance view from laser scanning. (credits: P. Navarro Esteve ETSAV, J. Herràez BoqueraETSICCP, H. Barros e Costa FTSA, J. L. Denia ETSICCP; DEGA - Universidad Politecnica De Valencia)45volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 45 16/11/2012 15:01:03