One of the things easily forgotten about Italy is that the modern state of Italy is just that -- modern. Previously in its history, what we know as the state of Italy today was a conglomeration of city-states (Florence, Venice, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Sicily, etc.) Also throughout its history, because of its important geographic location within the heart of the Mediterranean, it has been an attractive target for other neighbouring powers, whether the Normans or Ottomans.
Another culture that had a strong hold within modern day Italy, particularly southern Italy, were the Greeks/Byzantines. This is frequently why you run into that fascinating creature that we call Italo-Byzantine. This is simply the presence of Byzantium within Italy. They were certainly present in Otranto (as were the Ottomans), a presence that is witnessed in the likes of the Chiesa di San Pietro.
This small church follows a typical Byzantine "cross in square" model -- it's the Eastern Roman equivalent to the Latin "cruciform" church, the difference being that the latter is Latin cross shaped while the former is Greek cross in shape. The church is dated to approximately the ninth or tenth century.
As we turn our attention inside, we are not unexpectedly faced with elements taken from different periods of time (for example, the altar seen here is in fact a nineteenth century intervention and previously there was a baroque era altar found here, some remnants of which can still be found within the church). There no dout would have also been a balustrade, set between the two pillars seen here, at one time as well.
What is of particular interest though is the general architectural layout, the windows with transennae, an element that is found in both Roman and Byzantine architecture, and the frescoes.
The frescoes themselves date to various periods. The oldest date to the tenth to eleventh century, while others date to the 1300's and 1500's. Some of these works are very "Byzantine" in their iconographic style and canons, while others lean toward a more medieval Western style.
The image that primarily drew my attention to this church in the first place was that of the main apse, showing an impressive fresco of the Madonna and Child, beneath which are found those two beautiful Roman/Byzantine style windows.
These images are notable for their colour, as well as their Byzantine influenced elements. You can see, however, that these particular images are not -strictly- Byzantine and also showcase some Western influences. This comes as little surprise as these particular images date from 1540. Still, their particular structure does follow a fairly typical and popular Byzantine iconographic pattern, lending to speculation these images may well have taken their inspiration from the earlier Byzantine works they covered over.
On that point, if one looks just beneath the apse to the left, we come across a beautiful depiction of St. Peter, no doubt dating to the same period. If you look closely however, you can see this particular fresco has actually covered over an earlier, Byzantine one which can be seen peaking out from beneath St. Peter's cloak. In this regard then, it is important to remember that the church as you see it now would have originally been far more strictly Byzantine in its character. Still, it must be said that this mixture of Byzantine and Latin elements makes for an interesting and promising pairing.
 |
| The text, in Greek, that accompanies this fresco is the discourse of John 13:8-9 of Christ washing St. Peter's feet. |
One also clearly sees this influence in the remaining remnants of the Baptism of Christ as well as the remnants of a depiction of the Resurrection (dating to the fourteenth century). These examples follow the later iconographic canons we tend to associate with "Byzantine iconography." It is interesting to compare these examples with the earlier Byzantine work we've just considered above which present a much softer, slightly more naturalistic (but still iconographic) form by comparison with the later Byzantine style.
A fascinating little church located on the heel of the boot of modern day Italy.
-------
Do you like Liturgical Arts Journal's original content? You can help support LAJ in its mission and vision to promote beauty in Catholic worship either by:
You choose the amount! Your support makes all the difference.
