Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller (original) (raw)

L'Aquila - S. Maria di Collemaggio (women of Sulmona by E. Lear)

You may wish to see an introductory page to this section or a page on the Vale of L'Aquila or a historical outline of the town first.

## S. Maria di Collemaggio from " Edward Lear - Illustrated Excursions in Italy - 1846"

The Church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is highly interesting, and as remarkable for the beauty of its architectural details as for the whimsical appearance of its principal front, which is formed of red and white marble so arranged as to have rather the look of Chinese workmanship. (..) The situation of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is very striking: it stands alone at a short distance from the city, overlooking the wild vale of Aquila, with the pale peaks of Monte Corno shining against the dark-blue sky. Edward Lear - Illustrated Excursions in Italy - 1846

## S. Maria di Collemaggio from the end of a modern grass avenue leading to it

About half a mile outside Porta Bazzano, on a dust-laden, wind-stricken platform, is the beautiful Church of S. Maria di Collemaggio. Only the front of the original building, of 1287, remains - of white marble inlaid with red. Augustus J. C. Hare - Cities of Southern Italy and Sicily - 1891 Throughout the Middle Ages Italy was artistically divided into the north and south by the almost impassable barrier afforded by the papal state on the west and the mountain massif of the Abruzzi on the east. (..) The Abruzzi filled the gap between the papal state and the Adriatic and (..) their isolated valley population, largely cut off from the outside world and from one another formed an artistic backwater which was almost as impenetrable as the conservatism of Rome. A. W. Clapham - Romanesque Architecture In Western Europe - 1936 Until the 1950s art historians paid little attention to the peculiar architecture style which developed in Abruzzo in the XIIIth century.

## Fa�ade and base of the bell tower (the image used as background for this page is based on the decoration of the fa�ade)

Another very singular church is that called Santa Maria di Collemaggio, placed on a hill so named outside of the walls. It has a Gothic front incrusted with marble in squares of different hues, like that of the Duomo at Sienna, with a large arched portal and scrolled window. Above the porch an iron rail runs along the front of the building, from which the bishop of the diocese reads, on every 29th of August, the bull in favour of Aquila, granted by Pietro da Morrone, who was consecrated pope in this building in 1294, under the name of Celestine V, and was afterwards buried within its walls. (..) A monastery of Celestine friars, the order which he had founded, had been established on the spot, but suppressed in more recent times by the French. A community of the Franciscan rule, designated by the title of Anziani, have since been allowed to occupy the convent; but they are so poor as to be disabled from keeping up the church and its appendages in the state of decent repair which it deserves. Keppel Richard Craven - Excursions in the Abruzzi and northern provinces of Naples - 1838 In 1880 the small structure housing the bells above the octagonal tower and the iron rail mentioned by Craven and shown by Lear in his illustration were removed.

## Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo (MUNDA): XVth century statues of Pope Celestine V holding the City of L'Aquila and of the Virgin Mary from the fa�ade of S. Maria di Collemaggio

The Celestinian forgiveness celebration was inspired by Pope Celestine V, who issued a historical Bull as an act of partnership among local populations. Taking place in the city and province of L'Aquila, the tradition comprises a set of rituals and celebrations transmitted uninterruptedly since 1294. The practice conveys a sense of continuity and cultural identity for the whole community. The "Forgiveness Walk" opens with the lighting of the "Fire of Morrone" (at the hermitage of Pietro Morrone) and its descent, accompanied by a candlelight procession. The procession proceeds along a traditional itinerary marked by the lighting of tripods in each of the twenty-three villages involved, where the mayor signs a parchment recalling the Bull's symbolic values. The community gathering ends in L'Aquila with the lighting of the last tripod. Drums, clarions and flag bearers enliven and mark the rhythm of the Parade, which involves 1000 citizens dressed in traditional costumes. (..) The meanings and traditional practices of the element are transmitted through tales told at home, in schools and in community gathering places, and the community's constant participation in the celebration has ensured its viability over time. UNESCO - in 2019 the celebrations of the Celestinian Forgiveness (Perdonanza) were included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

## Left and central portals by Edward Lear

The porch is extremely rich. The central doorway is round, consisting of four bands, three of which are spiral, the other being composed of small figures of saints or angels. The canopied niches are of great variety and beauty; the pillars are richly carved and twisted in a multiplicity of forms. The niches were once filled with statues, of which only seven now remain. The two lateral doorways have two columns on each side elaborately twisted, but partly concealed by pilaster. John Murray - A Handbook for Travellers in Southern Italy - 1853

## Central portal

The use of a local red stone to enhance the decoration of S. Maria di Collemaggio is most likely due to the historical and artistic ties between L'Aquila and Umbria where at Spoleto and chiefly at Foligno and Assisi a local pink stone characterized the decoration of many churches.

## Left and right side portals

The design of the side portals is not entirely identical and they both jut out from the front of the church. This suggests that they were placed there during one of the many restorations of the building and most likely they were not initially made for its fa�ade. The need to adjust their size to the new location could explain why they have a very slightly horseshoe design.

## Details of the portals of the fa�ade (central and left)

The exact date of the completion of the fa�ade is a matter for debate, but in general it is assumed it was completed by the early XVth century and partly rebuilt after a major earthquake in 1469. The details of the decoration of the portals depart from the complex reliefs of older churches, e.g. S. Maria di Paganica, and show already signs of the Renaissance. It is possible that Domenico da Capodistria, who later on worked at [S. Giacomo di Vicovaro](Anticoli2.html#S. Giacomo) was involved in the decoration of the central portal.

## Rose windows by Edward Lear: (left) above the right small portal; (right) above the central portal

August 4, 1843. We occupied our afternoon in a stroll about the city, which afforded plenty of amusement in the variety of bits of Gothic architecture of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; doors, windows, etc. presenting themselves at every step. Few towns, indeed, possess more interesting studies for an architect. Lear Lear's travels in Abruzzo were chiefly aimed at finding new subjects for his landscape paintings, because those around the environs of Rome were too known, but he was so genuinely impressed by S. Maria di Collemaggio that he made some technical drawings of its architectural features. You may wish to see his views of Olevano and Sambuci which were painted before he visited Abruzzo.

## The actual rose windows drawn by Lear

The three rose windows, though now blocked up, are still extremely beautiful. Murray The small rose window has attracted the attention of those who study numerical patterns and draw inferences from them because it is based on (7x2) 14 spokes rather than on (6x2) 12 as the central one and many other rose windows, e.g. those at Tuscania and at Spoleto. The number seven has many symbolic meanings both in classical antiquity and in Christianity, so many opinions have been put forward.

## Interior as it was before 1970

The date of its erection is about 1260, but the interior is entirely modernized. (..) The aisles were silent and deserted, the whole building in a neglected condition; and the mind involuntarily recurred, in contrast, to the coronation of Pope Celestine, in 1294, and the two hundred thousand spectators of that scene of pomp. Lear The fa�ade alone remains of the original Gothic building, all the rest being a subsequent addition in the Roman style. The interior of the church has a rich roof, and the floor contains several monuments to bishops of the Celestin order, chiefly of the 16th century. The choir is Gothic altered into the classic style, the body of the building was ruined by the earthquake of Feb. 2. 1703. Murray The church was damaged by the many earthquakes which struck L'Aquila, but the fa�ade much less than the interior, which was redesigned more than once; eventually it was given a grand Roman Baroque aspect, similar to that of S. Bernardino.

## Interior in 2023

In the 1970s Mario Moretti, Fine Arts Superintendent for Abruzzo, in the assumption that the Baroque stuccoes and additions including the ceiling were hiding the original medieval structure which might have retained some interesting cycles of frescoes decided to pull them away (he did the same in the crypt of the Cathedral of Chieti). As a matter of fact the walls behind them were a mix of masonry of different periods of no architectural or artistic value. Today the bare interior is not representative of the aspect it might have had in the XIVth century. In addition the 2009 earthquake caused the collapse of the presbyterial area.

## (left) XVIIth century door of the left portal; (centre) tombstone of Nicola Moczapede, a XVth century local knight; (right) monument to Pope Celestine V

Here is kept the skull of San Pietro Celestino, secured under eight keys, four of which are in the possession of the City authorities. It is shewn pubicly once a year, and has a square hole over the left temple, said to have been made by the nail which caused his death. Lear The sepulchre containing his remains is smaller, and of earlier construction, but much in the same style as that of S. Bernardino. Craven

Other pages on L'Aquila: The Vale of L'Aquila, Historical outline, S. Bernardino, Other Churches and Other monuments.