Symbol of Door as Mary in Images of the Annunciation of the 14th-15th Centuries

The current article addresses the topic of the symbolic identification of the Virgin Mary as a door according to a double possibility, namely, as an open door and as a shut door. This implies designating Mary simultaneously as ianua coeli and as porta clausa. These two possibilities suggest very different, though complementary, doctrinal meanings. Through the textual analysis of various quotes from the Church Fathers and theologians and medieval liturgical hymns referring to one or other of these two metaphorical expressions, the Author will determine the doctrinal meanings inherent in each one. In the second instance, the iconographic analysis of seven images of the Annunciation from the 14th and 15th centuries that include some door in special conditions will allow us to validate the hypothesis that the intellectual authors of these seven paintings introduced that door into them as a visual metaphor capable of illustrating both textual metaphors of porta clausa and ianua coeli.

Sospeso tra due mondi: il velo di San Giusto tra Bisanzio e Trieste

This article aims to a preliminary reassessment of the silk veil preserved in the Treasury of Trieste cathedral. The cloth is unparalleled in Byzantine as well in western medieval art, in that it is painted with tempera on both sides. It depicts a youthful martyr in a court costume, and bears an inscription that identifies the saint as St. Just. Since its alleged recovery from a reliquary in the early nineteenth century, the cloth has been often addressed by the scholars, who ascribed it either to a Byzantine or to a local master and dated it between the eleventh and the fourteenth century. Despite being referred to in several more general studies, it has been rarely considered individually. In this paper I address the many questions that the Trieste veil raises, including problems of chronology, provenance, function, and iconography. After careful observation and based on both primary sources and visual evidence, I argue that it was produced in Byzantium, possibly at an early date, to serve as a liturgical implement; later, it was brought to the West, where the saint was given a new identity and the cloth was reused as a banner after being painted on the reverse.

Trasmigrazioni: cultura materiale e sviluppo dell'identità. Alcune riflessioni sulla produzione di San Vincenzo al Volturno

The text analyzes the ornamental culture of the monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno, through the comparison between different classes of materials. Through the analogies between the ornamental motifs, we tried to reconstruct their creative process, on a perceptual basis. The study, in fact, focuses on the relationship between the individual and the environment, exploiting the theories of Gibson, applying them to a particular context such as monasteries. The goal is to demonstrate how the continuous use of space determines the acquisition of visual information, which, stored in memory, is re-proposed during the creative process. Especially, it is the daily journey of the rooms that guarantees the memorization of the signs and, at the same time, their updating, through the change of perspective that occurs with movement. In the last part, we discuss the perceptive effects of the aniconic paintings in the crypt of Joshua.

Architravi scolpiti del XII secolo a Piacenza

Il saggio è dedicato all’analisi stilistica e iconografica di alcuni architravi scolpiti che ornano i portali delle chiese di Piacenza, una delle località più vivaci nel panorama artistico nord-italiano del XII secolo. L’eredità delle opere realizzate per la cattedrale cittadina dalla bottega di Nicholaus riecheggia nei rilievi delle chiese di San Matteo, Sant’Ilario e dell’inedito portale di Santo Stefano. Attraverso lo studio delle testimonianze storiche superstiti, il confronto con opere del medesimo periodo e contesto e una rinnovata attenzione per i contenuti iconografici, l’intento del saggio è quello di dimostrare la portata simbolica delle raffigurazioni ospitate sugli architravi. Un’attenzione particolare è riservata alla inusuale iconografia dell’Incredulità di san Tommaso presente sul portale della chiesa di Sant’Ilario. Il tentativo di rilettura delle iscrizioni e l’inquadramento di tale opera nel contesto socio-culturale della Piacenza di tardo XII secolo permette di formulare nuove ipotesi sulla connessione tra scelte iconografiche, istanze di rinnovamento spirituale della società e rituali liturgici, sottesa alla realizzazione di sculture che ornano significativamente le porte di accesso ai luoghi sacri, vie di salvezza per i fedeli penitenti.

Langobardia maior et minor: indagini sul legame tra la scultura altomedievale e i capitelli campani

Langobardia maior et minor: indagini sul legame tra la scultura altomedievale e i capitelli campani. Within the southern Italian city of Capua – in the 10th and 11th century ruler's residence of the Lombard principality of Benevento and capital of Langobardia minor – a group of early medieval capitals has survived, which can be divided into three closely related types. On the basis of type I, which is bound to the corinthian capital, an examination will be made regarding to what extent relationships can be verified with the architectural sculpture of the older Lombard kingdom in northern Italy, which was incorporated into the Frankish Empire by Charlemagne as early as 774. For this purpose, certain technical and stylistic characteristics can be used, which concern in particular the overlapping tips of the acanthus leaves. The thesis is that in the very specific forms of Capuan capitals a line of tradition can be traced that is also found in other contexts of early medieval art in Campania, possibly with origins in the north.