Life of St Hermagoras (Sant’Ermagora). Detail from a fresco cycle painted circa 1180 AD, in the Crypt of the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta in Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. Hermagoras, chosen in the 1st century AD by St Mark the Evangelist to lead Aquileia’s Christians, was the city’s first bishop.
Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy: detail from a scene from the life of Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia, a fresco cycle painted circa 1180 AD on the vault of the Crypt of Frescoes in the Sanctuary of the Basilica of Aquileia. Hermagoras, said to have lived in the 1st century AD, was chosen to lead Aquileia’s Christians by St Mark the Evangelist and was consecrated as Aquileia’s first bishop by St Peter. Hermagoras evangelised the area with his deacon, Fortunatus, but they were arrested by the Romans, tortured and beheaded. Alternatively, the pair may have been 3rd or 4th century Christians martyred in Singidunum (now Serbian capital Beograd or Belgrade), whose relics later came to Aquileia. A cult quickly grew up there based on belief in their apostolic origins and, at one time, the Patriarch of Aquileia was second only in status to the Pope. The Basilica was the first church to be built legally in Aquileia following the 313 AD Edict of Milan which proclaimed religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire and enabled nascent Christian communities to worship without fear of persecution. Aquileia was one of the largest cities of the ancient world and once had a population of about 100,000. The Basilica’s origins date back to the 300s when Bishop Theodore, with the support of Emperor Constantine, built a double basilica on the site of a Roman villa that had been used for communal gatherings. In the 800s, Patriarch Maxentius, with the support of Charlemagne, restored the building. In 1031, Patriarch Poppo of Treffin (1019 - 1042) rebuilt the church in Romanesque style. After an earthquake in 1348, the Basilica’s interior was rebuilt in Gothic style, preserving the mosaic flooring of the original church.
Size: 2739px × 4124px
Location: Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Aquileia, Udine province, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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