Wounded stag, its throat pierced by an arrow, and Sagittarius, archer centaur of ancient mythology. Early medieval (5th to 10th century) white marble relief sculpted on front of 12th century church, the Romanesque Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio at Gravedona, Lombardy, Italy. The carvings clearly pre-date the church.
Gravedona, Lake Como, Lombardy, Italy: Sagittarius, ninth sign of the astrological zodiac and the Archer centaur of ancient Greek mythology seen as a learned healer whose intelligence formed a bridge between Earth and Heaven, is among bas-reliefs sculpted in white Musso marble contrasting with dark grey Olcio stone on the west front of the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio, a 12th century Romanesque church on the northwest Lago di Como waterfront. Other carvings blending pagan, astrological and Christian beliefs, either side of a lancet window above the central portal, include a stag wounded by an arrow, a geometric eight-pointed star and a symbolic Gordian knot. They are believed to date from the early medieval period (the so-called ‘Dark Ages’ between the 5th and 10th centuries) and must therefore pre-date the church. Gravedona was once an important centre for the spread of Christianity. The lakeside land occupied by Santa Maria del Tiglio and the adjoining parish church of San Vincenzo is believed to have been a sacred site from at least the Roman era. The first Christian building, a baptistery dedicated to St John the Baptist, was probably built on the site of a pagan temple in the 5th century. Santa Maria del Tiglio and San Vincenzo both incorporate re-used ancient materials, including a Roman altar and a fragment of 5th century Roman geometric floor mosaic. The interior walls of Santa Maria del Tiglio are mostly bare, but some 14th and 15th century frescoes survive, including an Adoration of the Magi, a Christ the Redeemer, a Virgin Enthroned and a Last Judgement painted in the early 1300s. The church also houses a masterpiece of Lombard Romanesque sculpture, a wooden Crucifixion carved in the 12th century.
Size: 4163px × 2769px
Location: Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio, Gravedona, Lake Como, Lombardy, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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