Italian Romanesque

Sacred and Profane


Romanesque churches in Northern Europe tend to be plain in style, with a minimum of mainly geometric decoration. In Italy, on the other hand, they often bear a wealth of figurative carving, and while much of it represents saints, symbols and scenes from the Bible, there is a surprising range of motifs and images which seem to be at the least, not obviously Christian, and on occasion, frankly pagan.

These four buildings illustrate this incongruity, in a variety of ways. To explore them, click on the images.