The Virgin Mary, flanked by sculpted angels, prays above a Latin inscription on the architrave or beam of the 1187 AD Romanesque central portal of the former Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni e Reparata (Church of Saints John and Reparata) in Piazza San Giovanni at Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. The richly carved doorway survived the rebuilding of the facade in 1589.
Lucca, Tuscany, Italy: the Virgin Mary stands flanked by sculpted angels above a Latin inscription as she prays in the centre of the architrave or beam of the 1187 AD Romanesque portal of the former Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni e Reparata (Church of Saints John and Reparata) in Piazza San Giovanni. The doorway survived the rebuilding of the facade in 1589. The angels are flanked in turn by the 12 Apostles and the portal also features carved capitals depicting biblical hero and warrior David playing the harp for Saul, the troubled monarch he would replace as King of Israel. Above the portal, two imposing projecting lions fight each other, while a third battles a dragon. The portal’s vibrant carvings are linked stylistically to the work of Lombard master sculptor Guido or Guidetto di Bonagiunta Bigarelli, known as Guido da Como (1220 - c. 1257). Guidetto built the upper facade of Lucca’s cathedral, the Duomo or Cattedrale di San Martino, and the Storie di San Martino (Stories of St Martin), a series of sculpted marble reliefs on the facade, may also be his work. The Romanesque basilica of Santi Giovanni e Reparata stands on the site of a 1st century AD Roman house and baths complex and a 5th century early Christian baptistery and church that served as the city’s cathedral until the 8th century. It retains an early Christian layout, with its three naves separated by re-used Roman columns. It is now a museum displaying the layered remains of the earlier structures on the site, excavated by archaeologists in the 1970s and opened to public view in 1992.
Size: 3800px × 2533px
Location: Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni e Reparata, Piazza San Giovanni, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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