Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/ygjwrcpr8y
Heptagonal Church of Holy Trinity in Rovinj as an Example of Influence of Pilgrimages on Late Medieval Architecture of Istria
Sunčica Mustač
; The Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria
Maurizio Levak
; Department of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University Juraj Dobrila of Pula, Pula, Croatia
Abstract
The church of Holy Trinity of Rovinj is designed as heptagonal central building with eight shallow niches in its interior, vaulted with a dome-like vault of circular ground plan. The surface of its walls is perforated with doors and window openings – circular window above the door on the West side and two windows finishing in arches on neighbouring sides. Such windows were equipped with transennae with figural reliefs, out of which is extant only transenna with scenes of the Crucifixion and Traditio legis, recently dated into the beginning or the first half of the fourteenth century. Because of its central ground plan and still enigmatic structures in the centre of the building, the church was hitherto interpreted in various ways (baptistery, Early Christian mausoleum) and dated (in the range from the ninth to the fourteenth century), while stylish identification varied from considering it a building built according to the Early Christian models to those recognising elements of Gothic style in it. Taking into the account the fact that in Rovinj existed two more churches of heptagonal ground plan (the church of SS. Cosmas and Damian and the church of St. Mary of the Snows) leading to the unique case within the area of Istria and its wider cultural surrounding of the formation of even three heptagonal churches in the area from the centre to the border of the historical core of Rovinj, it is necessary to research the church, as well as two other churches mentioned above, and offer an explanation of the context of their origin and in that manner determine time of their building with greater precision. Historical and artistic analysis of the sculpture of the transenna showed that making of the relief may be moved later for one hundred years than it was hitherto thought. The same is the case with the analysis of the manner of building, which corresponds to classical building style of High Gothic in the whole Istrian peninsula. It seems that crucial role in appearance of this specific architectonic shape played the position of Rovinj as one of important stations on the pilgrim maritime highway from Venice towards the Holy Land, intensified in the second half of the fourteenth century. Such voyages were highly organised, the monuments existing on them were studied and measured in details, and some travellers returned from them equipped with precise drawings of measured monuments which might serve to only one purpose – making of equally or similarly made buildings in the pilgrim’s country of origin, in order to enable other faithful there to have a “spiritual pilgrimage.” Even though similarly detailed descriptions are lacking for two other pilgrimage centres popular by the denizens of Istria, Rome and Santiago de Compostela, it may be assumed that the churches which were stations at those routes were treated with adequate piety. The analysis of different interpretations of churches of central ground plan existing on these pilgrimage routes shows that for the construction of the church of Holy Trinity in Rovinj a great role plaid the church of St. Mary in Rieux-Minervois in the South France with heptagonal centre, one of the churches in the stations on the way to Santiago de Compostela. Even though that church was built in the twelfth century, it may be assumed that heptagonal shape of the sanctuary was brought from some of the pilgrimages undertaken after the Franciscans took over the care of many stations in the Holy Land in 1342, and – according to all presented above – the beginning of that undertaking may be put in the end of the fourteenth century.
Keywords
Rovinj; Church of Holy Trinity; heptagon; transennae; Gothic; Rieux-Minervois; spiritual pilgrimage
Hrčak ID:
302105
URI
Publication date:
17.5.2023.
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