Frescoes on the south wall of the Chiesa di San Vigilio (Church of Saint Vigil or Church of St Vigilius of Trent) in Pinzolo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. Running along the top of the wall, below the eaves, is a Dance of Death fresco frieze, painted in 1539 by Simone II Baschenis (c. 1495-1555). Among other frescoes below is a partial St Christopher and Christ Child (centre), a bishop in a frescoed niche (lower left), and a crucifixion fresco in another niche (lower right).
Pinzolo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy: southern facade of the Chiesa di San Vigilio (Church of Saint Vigil or Church of St Vigilius of Trent). Running along the top of the wall, below the eaves, is a Dance of Death fresco frieze, painted in 1539 by Simone II Baschenis (c. 1495-1555) in what the Northeast Italy Cadogan Guide describes as “a vividly eerie medieval-style Dance of Death”. The Guide continues: “Placid, business-like skeletons conduct princes, popes, soldiers and everyone else to their end”. The Dance of Death or Danse Macabre procession begins on the left, where a crowned figure of Death plays the bagpipes, accompanied by two other skeletons playing horns. The three musical skeletons are followed by Christ on the cross, then 18 people with very different positions in society, each pierced by the arrow of Death, with smiling skeletons. Among other frescoes below the Dance of Death is a St Christopher and Christ Child, of which the lower part is missing. The exact date of construction of the Chiesa di San Vigilio is not known, but from the shape of the bell tower is believed to be some time in the 1200s. The first official document naming the church is dated 28 October 1232. On that day, representatives from surrounding villages gathered under the church’s portico to assess damage caused by flooding. Documents from 1362 mention San Vigilio in Pinzolo as a sanctuary. The building was consecrated on 28 August 1454 and rebuilt in 1515 in a rectangular shape with three naves. Pinzolo is a ski resort in the Val Rendena, on the banks of the Sarca River in the Brenta Dolomites in the northern Italian Alps. It lies inside the Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta nature reserve.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Pinzolo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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