Saint Christopher, patron saint of travellers, carrying the Christ Child on his shoulders. Mid-1300s fresco by an itinerant Lombard artist, known as the Maestro di Sommacampagna, on the west front of the Chiesa or Chiesetta di San Tommaso Apostolo (Church of St Thomas the Apostle) at Cavedago, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. The former parish church, now a cemetery chapel, dates from the mid-1300s and retains medieval frescoes on internal and external walls. Pilgrims and wayfarers used to stop at the church to pray for Saint Christopher’s protection.
Cavedago, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy: the piercing eyes of a massive Saint Christopher, patron saint and protector of travellers, still stares from the west front of the Chiesa or Chiesetta di San Tommaso Apostolo (Church of St Thomas the Apostle), more than six centuries after the fresco was painted by a mid-14th century itinerant Lombard artist known only as the Maestro di Sommacampagna. The fragmentary wall painting, now protected by a pillared portico, depicts the early Christian martyr saint carrying a sprouting staff in his right hand as he fords a dangerous swollen river bearing the Christ Child on his left shoulder. The image used to be venerated by generations of pilgrims and wayfarers using the nearby ancient Roman imperial road through the Val di Non that in medieval times provided a link between the German-speaking North Tyrol and Italian-speaking areas to the south. Travellers would have stopped at the church to pray to San Cristoforo to protect them from sudden death or harm. The former parish church, now a cemetery chapel, stands on an upland site offering panoramic views of the Non Valley and of rugged Brenta Dolomite peaks. It was founded in the mid-1300s and retains remnants of 14th century frescoes, both on the west front and inside. The church has a Romanesque bell tower with round-arched windows and ribbed Gothic vaults over its nave. In the early 1900s, fire destroyed the church roof and weakened the whole structure. It re-opened after repairs, but then in 1974 lost its parochial function. Major restoration work between 1999 and 2002, supported by extensive research into the building and its artworks, succeeded in restoring San Tommaso to its former glory.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Cavedago, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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