S. Maria d’Anglona. The Wall Paintings Revisited

The catholicon of Santa Maria d'Anglona was in its initial phase a three aisled roman basilica with three apses in the east. Wall paintings adorned the interior, from which only parts of the central nave, the south wall and the lateral apses are conserved, due to modifications in the eastern part and in the widening of the transept. The frescoes are attributed between the end of the 12th and the first decade of the 13th century showing strong influence from the byzantine painting of the tardo-Komnenian period. From the rich iconographic program only part of the central nave still exists, part of the south wall of the south nave and of the two lateral niches. In the central nave, the impressive cycle of the Ancient Testament comprises forty episodes of the Chapter of Genesis, beginning from the Creation of the World until the story of Joseph. They are presented in a continuous narration and are enriched by long extracts from the Ancient Testament. Prophets and saints Hierarchs adorn the pilasters and the arches of the epistyle. On the southern wall very few episodes of the Christological cycle are conserved and a few martyrdoms of Apostles. The lateral niche of the north aisle was devoted to Apostle Peter. On the niche of the south aisle, archangels are depicted. The study of the frescoes of Santa Maria d’Anglona constitutes a precious tool for the study of the ethnic and religious diversities and for the perception of the “other” in south Italy around the year 1200. Though their style is strongly influenced by the byzantine Komnenian “koine”, the thematic selection is attached to Roman principles. It is a case study mingling different cultural and inter-dogmatic characteristics, which are dictated by the co-existence of different populations in the same area.