Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta (Atri)

The Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta (in dialect la cattdral ) is the cachecar of the diocese of Teramo-ATRI and the cathedral of Atri, a trimillerity city of art of the Adriatic Abruzzo, a few kilometers from Pescara, as well as one of the monuments-symbol of Abruzzo.
It has been a national monument since 1899. ^[first] On June 30, 1985 he was visited by John Paul II.

When Atri was founded around the XII-XI century BC The cyclopean walls that surrounded the city stood in the area of ​​the cachecaria area.

The Romans conquered Atri in 290 BC, made the fortune of the city and enlarged it, then they knocked down the cyclopean walls and in the area occupied today by the Co -criterion built a temple dedicated to Hercules.
Subsequently in that same place one was built home And then, between the 1st and second century AD, the Terme, under which the cisterns still can be visited today (currently under the cottage, known as “crypt”).

The decline of the West Roman Empire led to a general crisis and the spas of Atri, abandoned, became ruin. On these ruins, of which the materials reused, a place of worship arose: it was born like this L’church of Hatria .

The discovery of sculpture fragments dating back to the VIII-IX century, currently preserved in the cloister behind the Cathedral, constitute the testimony of the presence of a cult building in this area of ​​the city already in the early Middle Ages ^[2] .

This church, probably erected in the ninth century, was of modest size and was mentioned for the first time in a brass document I (958), which however does not specify its location: however it is very probable that it would deal with the Area of ​​the current Cathedral.

The Christian community grew and in the 11th century a larger church was built, corresponding to those of the current Cathedral, but less developed in height and divided into five naves (the remains of the aforementioned church can still be admired today inside the core ) which was enriched with works of art, however lost (except for a fragment of Ambone today at the Chapter Museum of Atri and the altar).

The new church is called in the sources first as Santa Maria de Atria (Santa Maria di Atri) and then as “Santa Maria Assunta”, cited in the bubble of Pope Innocent II and entrusted to the Cistercian monks who built a convent with it.

An interesting news on the 11th century cult building is handed down by Anton Ludovico Antinori in its annals: in 1102 the ancient and only bell of that church would have been merged, then destroyed in the eighteenth century ^[3] .

Of many centuries of the medieval age there are no sources: the church was perhaps destroyed by Roberto Di Loretello who in 1153 destroyed Teramo and perhaps also atri, but no document of the time speaks of a destruction of the city or by Roberto Di Loretello, nor on the part of any other leader or Lord.

Between the twelfth and thirteenth century many important characters cite the Church in their documents or bubbles: the popes Alessandro III (1177), Lucio III (1181), Clement III (1189), Celestino III (1194), Innocenzo III (1198 ); The emperors Enrico VI (1195) and Federico II (1200 and 1221).

In 1223 the Church was reconstructed following the forms of the previous church and was consecrated the same year in the presence of all Abruzzo prelates.

Meanwhile, during the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellini, Atri partial at the beginning for the Ghibellines, then for the winner Part Guelph.

As a prize for his fidelity to the Pope, Innocent IV (on the advice of Cardinal Capocci who made even free municipality) erected the diocese of Atri who extended from the Tronto river to the Fin, thus occupying the whole current province of Teramo.

The close dioceses, however, rebelled and the following year, in 1252, the Pope reduced the territory (establishing the boundaries between the Vomano and the Piomba) and always in the same year he was joined to the diocese of Penne (diocese of atri-life), maintaining its position as a bishopric.

Meanwhile, the church of Santa Maria had been elevated to cathedral and the Cistercians took over the canons of the chapter of the cathedral. The canons soon realized that the church threatened to collapse because the columns designed by the architect Leonardo of Cristoforo in the reconstruction of 1223 were too slender and supported too wide arches. The reconstruction of the Church, which began in all respects around 1260, for which two very famous local artists were called in the region: Raimondo Del Poggio and Rainaldo D’Atri, considered by historiography, the founders of the Atian school were then began in all respects. .
The two architects ended the reconstruction in its essential lines (facade, sides, internal) in 1284, creating a higher church than the previous one and three naves, replacing the slender columns with heavy octagonal pillars: the church was therefore consecrated and was given to it The official title of “Santa Maria Assunta”.

From the fourteenth century until the beginning of the seventeenth century the church equipped itself with precious works of art, thanks also to the patronage of the Acquaviva (Dukes of Atri) and the bishops, some famous, such as the bell tower (started in 1305 but concluded only in 1502 ) and the Stories of Christ and Mary in the presbytery (choir of the canons) made between 1460 and 1470 and the Evangelists (1481) On the vault of the presbytery made both of the famous painter Andrea De Litio, the maximum exponent of the Renaissance in Abruzzo.

In 1824 Bishop Domenico Ricciardone commissioned some small times in the central nave; The bishop himself restored the roof, the entire church and the paintings. A very important event was when, on February 19, 1899, the Cathedral of Atri was declared a national monument.

From 1954 to 1964 imposing restoration works were carried out directed by the architect Guglielmo Matthiae, who gave the church the current appearance: the whole floor was redone; To make the Romanesque windows visible behind the choir and the rear facade, the chapel of the Assumption, the sacristy and another attached room were knocked down ( All the works of art contained in these last two rooms were moved to the Chapter Museum ^{[ without source ]} ); The altar of Sant’Anna (the Acquaviva chapel) which was next to the altar of the Assumption was disassembled and then reassembled on the counter -deal; Some Baroque altars were eliminated now devoured by the Tarme ^{[ without source ]} (except that of the Arlini); The grave of Blessed Nicola was destroyed (whose cult, however, was never approved by the Church) ^{[ without source ]} with the consequent loss of the body; The vaults of the central nave were demolished and replaced with a cement roof covered with wooden; The chapel of the Holy Sacrament was moved and in its place there was the altar of the crows which was previously located in another area of ​​the church.

In addition, to make the Roman mosaics of the ancient spas visible the presbytery was raised and glass plates were placed; The canopy of Carlo Riccione, who was above the altar, was dismantled because he obscured the sight of the frescoes and reassembled in the annexed church of Santa Reparata. During these restorations the remains of the ancient church of Sancta Maria de Atria were also discovered. The works also affected the Chapter Museum, with the rearrangement and restoration of all the rooms and reconstruction of the arches of the north side that had been closed in the 19th century. The works ended on September 12, 1964, when the cathedral was elevated to a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI and reopened on November 15 of the same year in the presence of Cardinal Cento.

On June 30, 1985 he had the visit of Pope John Paul II, visiting the diocese, celebrating the implementation of thousands of people from all over Abruzzo.

On September 30, 1986 following the Plena Union Of the dioceses of Teramo and Atri, the church of Santa Maria Assunta ceased to be a cathedral to become a contemporary.

During the restorations, various errors were made, among these: the ancient organ was destroyed, replacing it with a modern one and no dilation joints on the floor were placed.
Just this latter error meant that forty years later the outputs of the floor occurred and so the church was closed again from 2003 to 2008 to carry out the restoration works; The reopening to worship took place on December 21, 2008.

During the latter restorations the pavement with terracotta and travertine slabs that imitate the colors of the columns was redone; A heating system for the cold months has been inserted under the floor; The glass slabs have been replaced, the plasters redone, restored all the works of art present.
The bell tower underwent an important restoration between 1996 and 1999: during a thunderstorm, a lightning hit the cruciger globe that is located on top of the tower, piercing it and making it hang dangerously; The terminal part of the Campanile also had damage.
The restoration works affected the whole upper part of the bell tower; The globe was replaced with an equal one, but which also acts as a palapulins: the ancient one is located today in the cloister of the cowardral (included in the visit to the Chapter Museum) and you can immediately notice the gash caused by lightning.
In the 2009 eagle earthquake, the church was closed for two days to carry out checks: small falling falling falls in the left nave were found near the bell tower, but the stability of the whole structure was not compromised, therefore the Concatdrale was reopened but the left nave was cordoned by precaution which remained closed to the public until the beginning of June 2009.

Following the earthquake of August 2016, the basilica was closed to carry out restoration work. It was reopened on August 14, 2018, on the occasion and again allowing the traditional rite of the opening of the Holy Door ^[4] .

Facade [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The majestic and imposing facade overlooks Piazza Duomo. In ancient times he had a cusp, which collapsed during an earthquake on September 17, 1563, at 16:00; The cusp was never reconstructed again.
Made of Istria stone like the whole exterior of the church, the facade presents the splendid portal made by Raimondo del Poggio and Rainaldo D’Atri between 1288 and 1305 at the center. Full of columns, capitals and with the representation of two Fairs, the portal is an important example of Gothic in Abruzzo: especially after the restoration carried out between 2003 and 2008 it can be admired in all its beauty.
The lunette was painted in the 16th century with a fresco depicting The assumption of Mary , once erroneously attributed to Andrea De Litio. To the right of the portal you can admire those very few remains of a gigantic fresco depicting San Cristoforo (XIII century): in the Middle Ages in many churches it was used to affix gigantic images of this saint, patron of travelers and pilgrims. It was believed that seeing an image of it also from afar ensured protection during the trip or pilgrimage.

Above the portal there is a 12 -ray rose window, one of the most precious in Abruzzo: the author is unknown.
Above the rose window, again, a niche contains a statue of the Madonna and Child on a throne made of marble at the end of the thirteenth century: the author is unknown, perhaps an artist from the Athian school, but the sculpture presents some references to the Gothic sculpture of the time , especially in Arnolfo di Cambio. At the top of the facade the Cuspid stood: collapsed in 1563, it was no longer reconstructed but replaced with a decoration that consists of a series of arches, in Renaissance style.

Right side [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The right side, overlooking Via Andrea De Lithio and preceded by a large sidewalk with some benches and small trees, faces the bishop’s palace and the seminary; At the bottom of the right side stands the church of Santa Reparata (Atri), which is annexed to the cachecaria but is a church in its own right.
There are three portals there; The first was made by Rainaldo D’Atri in 1305 and is in Gothic style with a rich ornamentation with a tunnel, cuspidal termination. The fresco, depicting The coronation of Mary It was performed between 1200 and 1300 by an unknown artist linked to the ways of Cimabue who is also the author of the frescoes found in the other two portals: this painter was called the master of the lunettes of Atri. The first portal enjoys the privilege of being a holy door. Atri’s cottage is one of the seven churches in the world to have a holy door and the related plenary indulgence. In 1295 there is a mention of the Santa di Atri gate, which had been established at that time: it is therefore thought that originally it should be a small portal then replaced with the current one in 1305. We do not know with confidence which pope granted this privilege, Perhaps Celestino V (whose mother was from Atri) or Bonifacio VIII (which in 1295 had already risen to the papal throne); Even today the holy door is solemnly open to the presence of thousands of people on August 14 and closed 8 days later, on August 22, always in the presence of the bishop.

After the Holy Door, the second portal follows, which is generally always open during the visiting times of the Cohottherale (the central door is opened on the occasion of the masses and procession that come out here). This portal was made in 1288 by Raimondo del Poggio and is inserted between two pilasters. On the sides two sculptures depicting lions of still Romanesque style; There are also the cruciferous lamb (symbol of Jesus) and the coat of arms of the Angevins, the reigning house at the time in the kingdom of Naples. The fresco of the bezel, quite faded and ruined, depicts the Madonna and Child between two saints and is the work of the master of the lunettes of Atri.

The third and last portal, near the church of Santa Reparata, is open only in exceptional cases. It was made by Raimondo del Poggio in 1302 in Gothic style and presents very rich decorations, an example of the skill of Rainaldo and Raimondo and above all of the latter: the two sculptures on the sides of the portal interesting, depicting two lions: one gherm the prey, peaceful, the other is amazing and is about to leave the attack; The bezel presents a fresco (which among those of the portals on the right side, is the best preserved) depicting The Madonna and Child between the Saints Giacomo and Giovanni of the master of the lunettes of Atri. All three portals were splendidly restored.

L’attribuzione di questo portal e degli altri tre all’opera di Raimondo del Poggio from Rainaldo d’black e rainald dalle ^ è enriched the dalle entered:
– year 500 (omini) Mc / 188 / Q (UI) Gateway Tagged / PSIT RAY (MULTURE) S / ARMS / WORKING
– During the 500 (ll) 1 1302 T (em) p (O) R (e) SA / CRE (E) 1 B (RE) Sulis P (Ro) Cu / Ranto Mag (ist) Ro Leonar / DO H (EC) PO (R) ta made out (ST) P (ER) / Mag (ist) R (um) Raym (Egg (e) d) d)
– years added to / ended under a thousand treces (n) tis / work / Raynaldus no (m) 1 (n) from the citizen / presule Bernardo Cu / RA (n) you, Leonardo ^[5]

On the right side many windows overlook the windows of the thirteenth century: these windows differ from those of the time because they are very simple, in fact the glass has no decoration.

Rear facade [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The rear facade of the Duomo overlooks the cloister. In front of it, a large space opens, once occupied by the sacristy and on the other room attached, demolished in the restorations of 1954-1964. At the top, at the top of the rear facade, there is a round window that lights the presbytery inside, in addition to the other two small windows.

Left side and bell tower [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Compared to the right side, which overlooks a large street and which is therefore visible in all its length, the left side overlooks the alleys of Atri and on Largo dei Faugni and is “suffocated” by the premises of the canonical sacristy e of antiSagstia that arise next to him and therefore it seems that it is much shorter than the right side. On the left side there are two recent windows decorated with saints that give light to antisagstia and one of the three entrances of the Capitular Museum; On the left side is the bell tower. The bell tower, with its almost 64 meters high, stands on the roofs and other bell towers of the city and is also visible at night (thanks to sophisticated lighting) to the surrounding valleys. In addition, with its almost 64 meters high, it is the second highest bell tower in Abruzzo, after that of Sulmona, 65.5 meters high.

The bell tower, with a square plan, was perhaps started in 1264 to replace a sailing one; In 1305 Rainaldo D’Atri ended the construction to the cell with the bells. In 1502 Antonio da Lodi, a Lombard architect who collected a great success in the region (creating similar bell towers, not to say the same, to that of Atri), ended the work by adding the upper part with the cuspided octagon and the ball (of which has already been discussed). The decoration of the upper part is interesting, made above all of painted ceramic tiles from the first ceramic shops of Castelli. It is quite easy to recognize the part performed by Rainaldo by the one added then by Antonio da Lodi: the first is clearer, the second has darker tones. The bell cell has seven bells, each with a different name and with an inscription that distinguish them: The Campanone, the sea, the sun, the vure, the cincipà (two bells called precisely the top It is LA CINCIASRELLA ), the parish church . You can climb the bell tower from inside the church (prior authorization) through a series of 147 steps inside the construction and also appear on the various openings and windows: during clear days and with a good telescope, you can get to see the Alps Dinaric.

The current dimensions of the church is 56.60m in length for 24.70m in width ^[6] .

The interior of the church is three naves: the central one is the highest, the lateral ones are lower and at the same height. The medieval columns have splendid medieval capitals, some different from another, made around 1223 some and between 1260 and 1284 others, the work of Raimondo del Poggio and Rainaldo D’Atri.

Left nave [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Along the left nave we have a series of frescoes and sculptures dated between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries; In addition, there are the base of the bell tower and the access marina.

Stories of Christ [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Of the ancient frescoes that narrated the stories of Christ and who decorated the entire counter -faced left, only the upper section remains today. Once the walls of the Church were literally covered by frescoes, which were however all covered by lime (except those of the choir) in 1656 due to the plague to avoid contagion. The frescoes were then discovered, fragmentary, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The stories of Christ were discovered in 1905. The various remaining panels depict scenes of the life of Jesus separated each from the figure of one or more saints. The work is dated 1340 and the author affixes his name and is Luca D’Atri, now considered the personality behind that of the mysterious painter of the teacher of Offida, an artist who worked for a long time between Marche, Abruzzo and Basilicata . The matrix of the frescoes is Giottesca, and an apprenticeship at Giotto (to which Luca is compared by contemporaries) or more probably by Simone Martini in Naples is probable.

Arlini Chapel [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The cachecaria has no chapel (apart from that of the Sas. Sacramento), only altars, which however are all called chapels. The Arlini chapel is the only baroque altar still intact and still present today in the church, the others ruined and were demolished during the restoration works of 1954-1964: only the altar of the assumption was destroyed not because in ruins but because he obstructed the vision of the Romanesque windows. The Arlini chapel during the restoration works was dismantled, restored a piece by piece together with the canvas, and finally reassembled. The altar, in wood covered with gold, was erected in 1618 in primitive Baroque style (with references to Renaissance art) as a place of prayer of the Arlini family, a powerful family of Lombard traders who moved to Atri. At the top of the tympanum is the family coat of arms (a snake that eats a man), more under an inscription with the clients and the year of realization; Two Doric columns, with the bases and above the capitals two heads of putti, frame a painting on canvas of the Neapolitan school of the seventeenth century, depicting The coronation of Mary : below are the souls of Purgatory, which are brought to the sky by the angels, in the central band four saints (Leonardo, Nicola, Carlo Borromeo, Francesco) on the background of mountains, at the top of many clouds and a crowd of angels the spirit Santo illuminates the figure of the Madonna who is crowned by the Son and the Father. The canvas presents many points of contact with the work of Ippolito Borghesi, the Umbrian painter who moved to Naples, who make at least an intervention presumed, in fact the figures of San Leonardo and San Francesco are identical copies of two paintings depicting the saints attributed to Ippolito Borghese and preserved in the Capitular Museum of Atri. On the altar there are six candelabra candles and a seventeenth -century wooden crucifix.

San Nicola and San Giacomo [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

A fresco that is located in the upper part of the wall, between the Arlini chapel and the bell tower. It is all that remains of a fresco that had to represent the stories of the life of the two saints. It was performed in the fourteenth century and the author is unknown. Proves that the rest of the fresco should represent the life of the two saints is the presence of the remains of a fresco depicting the Burial of San Nicola , the final fact of the Stories of the Saint and who would have had little meaning if he had not been part of a cycle of frescoes.

Baptistery [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The baptistery is located near the bell tower. It was built in 1503 by Paolo De Garviis, a Lombard-Swiss sculptor born in Bissone and who like many others had later went down to Abruzzo where he had made luck. His main and famous works, and also the only ones left, are those made in Atri. It was the most active Lombard sculptor in Abruzzo in the sixteenth century. The baptistery is marble and has a canopy structure, reachable through three small steps, decorated with flowers, vegetable elements and typical vases of the Lombard Renaissance style. At the base of the columns, some registrations are read, two of which inform about the date and the author. The baptismal font is splendid, in Renaissance style, and recalls the works of Antonio Rossellino. The baptismal font, inside, contains the basin with the holy water made in the thirteenth century by Athrian artists (Raimondo del Poggio?). Just raise the iron lid of the thirteenth century to take the holy water. From an inscription it is learned that in ancient times the baptistery was in front of the internal entrance to the church of Santa Reparata and allowed the fastest entry to the “crypt” (the Roman cisterns): it was moved where it is located today in 1763.
Even today, during the baptisms, we go to procession from the altar to the baptismal font, where the sacred rite takes place. Still waiting for restoration, after the last earthquake it is unusable.

Base of the bell tower and remains of frescoes [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The bell tower of the Cathedral of Atri has a particularity: having the base, or rather almost the whole base, inside and not outside. This is because otherwise to play the bells, the employee should have come out and go around the building. During the decoration of the cachecaria, the base of the bell tower was also decorated with a series of frescoes, of which some traces remain today. On the left and right side there are some small tears of frescoes dated to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, while on the “facade” of the base (the one that overlooks the columns of the nave) there are the most substantial remains. We find one Saint Lucia of the XV-XVI century; two Holy nuns of the end of the fifteenth century and within Renaissance painted niches, the work of Abruzzo artists; Santa with Palma , a piece of fresco with the bust of a saint (missing head) that dates back to the fourteenth century, perhaps by Luca D’Atri himself.

Archaeological remains [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Emerged during the last restorations of 2003-2008, were made visible by glass slabs and enlightened. They consist of a deep well that ended in a short descent that entered the exhausts and waters in the cistern. In the Middle Ages, the opening that allowed the passage of discharges into the cistern was closed.

Chapel of the Holy Sacrament [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

This is the only chapel present in the Cathedral. It is modest (so as to host only the altar) and was opened during the restorations of the twentieth century, when the entire rear facade was freed. The movement of the chapel of the Blessed of the Blessed allowed a more convenient connection between the presbytery and the chapel, given that before the celebrant had to go around the whole presbytery and half -nave right to reach the Holy Sacrament. At the entrance of the chapel, a wrought iron balustrade and from above a wrought iron lantern lights to the space. Also at the entrance we have two medieval columns with simple Torciglione decorations. The altar hosts the precious tabernacle with the sacrament: it was performed by artists of revisondoli in the eighteenth century, to replace the previously destroyed previous one, and has the typical form of the tabernacles of the time. Around 1890 the tabernacle was repainted with a cream white color, while the columns and capitals painted with a golden color, while the various spaces divided by the columns are filled by small canvases of the late sixteenth century, the only surviving parts of the ancient tabernacle of the sixteenth century which was destroyed. The benches to sit and pray are immediately out.

Organ and marina [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The ancient organ, created by artists of the Marche in the 1547, was destroyed during the restorations of the 1950-1960 years and replaced with one of the same size as the previous but of lower quality. In the last restorations the organ has been dismantled and is still in the restoration phase and has not yet decided whether to relocate this organ or another of equal size and similar but more valuable.
The organ of the Co -Cathedral of Atri, however, with its 6000 rods, has always been the largest organ of Abruzzo. Thanks to the disassembly of the organ, the decorations of the small door came out that connects the left nave with the sacristy, passing through a small room. These decorations date back to the fifteenth century and one depicts a strip with a vegetable element, the other a bust of an angel. These decorations had already been noticed during the restorations of the twentieth century when the old organ was destroyed, but nobody had coincidentally and the news was never reported, so that the decorations were covered by the new organ. Only today did we know about the existence of these small decorations.

Madonna d’Ol High Sea [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The fresco is located between the organ (after the restoration of the early 2000s, the organ was disassembled and no longer relocated to the site) and the De Corviis chapel. He was found at the beginning of the twentieth century and in the restorations of the fifties-sixty detached, transported to a panel and then relocated to the place where he was found. The fresco was performed by Andrea De Litio around 1460 and represents the Madonna of Loreto during the translation of the Holy House: it is popularly called Madonna d’Ol High Sea , as it is depicted here when it is brought in flight by the angels above the Adriatic Sea along the journey from Nazareth to Loreto.
This representation of the translation of the Holy House is among the oldest, even if the cult has been widespread since the end of the thirteenth century. The fresco depicts the Madonna and Child at the top, placed on a red circle; Under the Holy House, as could be seen at the time, lined up by the angels and brought by these towards Loreto. The lower part of the fresco, with the rest of the representation of the angels and the house in addition to a view of the sea, has been lost.
This fresco was one of the pieces exhibited at the exhibition “The painters of the Renaissance in San Severino”, held in 2001 in San Severino Marche: the art of Andrea De Litio, especially in this fresco, is partly influenced by the painters Ludovico Urbani e Lorenzo D’Alessandro active in the fifteenth-century-Cinquecento in the Marche city.

Cappella de Corviis [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

It was the altar of the De Corviis family, or (Italianize) of the crows, a noble Athian family who had learned with the Acquaviva. In 1577 they had the privilege of building their “chapel”, that is, altar. Unlike all the altars of the church, this seems the most minute and simple, despite being of an important family since they were relatives of the dukes of Atri. The marble altar was erected, always in 1577, by local and Lombard artists, who also performed the decorations on imitation of those created by Paolo de Garviis in his works in the Concatadrale. The central part, lunette, was once occupied by an altarpiece, lost, today replaced by a wooden crucifix of the eighteenth century of good workmanship. A curiosity: once the altar was placed along the left nave; During the restorations of 1954-1964 the altar was moved here, to the left of the entrance of antiSagstia.

Archaeological remains [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Between the choir and the chapel de Corviis, near the remains of Sancta Maria de Hatria, there are other archaeological remains, visible through glass plates on which it is possible to walk. These are the remains of the ancient Roman spas on which the cachecarial was built.

Resti di Santa Maria de Hatria [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

At the bottom of the left nave there are the remains of the church of Sancta Maria de Hatria (Santa Maria di Atri) which had the same dimensions as the current one, stood at the same point but was lower and five naves. These remains refer to the two apse of the two left naves. Obviously the whole apses remain, only the lower part that constituted the perimeter. The remains were found during the restorations of the 1950s-Sassant; The remains of the Church are preceded by a small and low iron railing which, albeit of recent invoice, recalls the ancient ones and creates a very suggestive effect: it is enough to look at this small railing to admire the remains.

The meeting of the three living and the three dead and the frescoes of the thirteenth century [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

At the corner between the left wall of the choir and the back wall of the left nave, there is a singular fresco, of which there are not many versions in Italy, especially in the Middle Ages: The meeting of the three living and the three dead .
It is not a macabre dance, but it is an episode that is frequently found in French literature (even falls within the stories of some saints) and also in the Italian one (especially Bolognese). The work is datable around the seventh-octal decade of the thirteenth century.

The fresco can be divided into two parts, the earthly part and the one with the dead; In the first part, on the right, there are a tree, the horses of the three knights, the pages and finally the three knights, dressed in very precious clothes (and which testify to their nobility), frightened and landed at the sight of what they have seen And which is represented on the left side of the fresco: the dead who awaken. Three skeletons, with a thin layer of leather, have awakened and are dripping: the first two are already standing, the third is still inside the tomb but is about to go out (on the end left).

The fresco is contained in a frescoed frame of the same period and author: the frame of the upper part is interesting, which is the widest, where there are many geometric and vegetable decorations. Above the three knights, there is an inscription in capital Gothic characters, of which, however, only the first part has been preserved and is perfectly legible: Night (?) What runny glory of the majesty of the world … , which translated into Italian means And the night vanishes: the glory of the world … , evident allusion (perhaps) to the victory of death on life, which is also the main theme of the fresco: the men (the three knights) have landed at the sight of the dead, but they will not be able to escape from it.

Above this fresco there is another, smaller, which also occupies the corner between the two walls. It dates back to the end of the thirteenth century and it is all that remains of a fresco depicting the twelve apostles: only the saints Andrea and Bartolomeo survived.

Each apostle is contained in a niche and separated from a red strip; Next to Sant’Andrea there is everything that remains of a band to plant decorations, which perhaps separated this fresco from another.
Above the fresco, there is a merging of a castle in perspective most likely added in the first half of the fifteenth century.

Antisacrestia and sacristy [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

By means of a wrought iron canceled artistic, which is located next to the remains of Sancta Maria de Hatria, you can access the antiSacrestia room. In this space there are various works of art: first of all, two windows (work of the Camper di Atri company, seventies) with depictions of saints, the three and large wooden and carved drawers of the eighteenth century, a sink from the end of the end of the 19th century. Above these drawers there are four canvases performed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries: San Rocco , of the sixteenth-century-seventeenth century; The adoration of the shepherds , of the end of the sixteenth century and the work of an Abruzzo painter who resumes patterns of Roman and Umbrian painters; Madonna and Child and Saints (very deteriorated) most likely of the seventeenth century; The immaculate conception , the work of about 1780 performed according to many critics by Giuseppe Prepieti (Atri,?- about 1790), among the main students of Francesco Solimena. These canvases adorned with some Baroque altars today dismantled inside the cachecar, except the canvas of the Madonna and Child and Saints who come from the Church of the Madonna delle Grazie (Church of the Cona). Finally, an interesting fresco detached from the church of San Liberatore ad atri depicting the Madonna and Child enthusiastically between Angels , performed in the thirteenth century, but most likely retouched and repainted in some parts in the fifteenth century.

On the right there is one of the three entrances of the Chapter Museum, the so -called winter entrance , because open during the winter period to replace those overlooking the Rome Suva and via dei Musei open in the summer. The winter entrance, also open in summer, allows tourists a convenient connection between the cachecaria and the museum, without having to leave the church.

On the left, on the other hand, there is the closer and secluded entry of the sacristy: the interior of this room, where all the vestments and liturgical objects are kept has the shape of a chapel or oratory, which however must not surprise Since ancient sacristies often often have the shape of a chapel complete with altar. All the sacristy is decorated with 19th century frescoes by Teramo and Atrian artists: the dome is interesting, where there is the representation of musician and festive angels. On the back wall there is a wooden altar with the representations, the statues of the saints and the vegetable decorations covered with gold. The altar was made in the seventeenth century by a local artist who resumes the subjects of the sculptor Carlo Riccione in several places, the largest Abruzzo sculptor of the seventeenth century who lived in Atri from 1677 to 1692. On the altar table there are the bas -relief figures of San Lorenzo and another unidentified saint (hair, graticola and edge of the San Lorenzo dress covered with gold), while to frame the three depictions there are three winged and bare -breasted satirians (hair, wings and beard tied D ‘gold), which resume similar figures made by Carlo Riccione in Fano Adriano. The tone of the altar presents the typical baroque volumes; The first band has a gold -coated plant decoration. The central part has four bas -reliefs depicting The Annunciation, the Annunciante angel, Maria Maddalena and Santa Reparata , whose hair and cloaks and the halo (and also the lectern for the Madonna, the wings of the angel, the nail vase for the Maddalena, the palm and the city of Atri for Santa Reparata) are covered with gold. The representation of the four saints is framed on the sides by six niches that have four figures of saints (the other two have been lost or stolen) with a round, carved in the wood, with the dress completely covered with gold. The upper part has another vegetable decoration (richer than the lower one) covered with gold and, finally, between leaflets, two putti that holds the coat of arms of the Acquaviva. On the sides of the altar there are two boys with pieces of blue fabric embroidered with golden threads, whose meaning, dating and origin are still uncertain. Finally, there are the three wardrobes, dating back to the nineteenth century, also in wood and with the jams covered with gold.

Here too some canvases: a San Michele Arcangelo of the eighteenth century, a copy of the most famous canvas by Guido Reni in Rome; San Carlo Borromeo , of the end of the seventeenth century; Maria Maddalena of the eighteenth century.
A marina on the other side of the sacristy allows access to a small room which, through a small door, enters the left nave of the cascadrale, near the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

Right nave [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Acquaviva Chapel (altar of Sant’Anna) [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

It is found on the counter -fabed and in ancient times (before the restorations of the twentieth century) it was at the bottom of the right nave next to the altar of the Assumption: it was then dismantled and reassembled where it is today. This was the altar of the Acquaviva family, the most powerful family of Atri and all its vast duchy (which occupied a large part of Abruzzo and Calabria, as well as a small territory in the Marche and the cities of Peoples, Caserta and Conversano ). It is known as the Acquaviva chapel, or as an altar of Sant’Anna. The altar was built in marble between 1502 and 1503 by Paolo de Garviis at the behest of Isabella Piccolomini, wife of the Duke of Atri Andrea Matteo III Acquaviva (the main exponent of this family): in those years the Duke was in prison For part of the Spaniards during the war for the throne of Naples in which the French won (even if, shortly after, the Spaniards will return) and his wife Isabella erected a family altar in the Duomo as a vote for the Madonna and Sant’Anna for free her husband. The Athrians, however, who had always unbalanced the government of the Acquaviva who had deprived them of ancient municipal freedom, did not tolerate that the duke had erected a family altar right in the Duomo and so (taking advantage of the lack of the duke) entered the then cathedral Armed and destroyed a good part of the altar, leaving “integrated”, but only in some places, the upper part. In 1505, however, Duke Andrea Matteo III was freed and thus returned to the head of the Duchy of Atri and learned of the incident, strictly punished the whole population: all, from the poorest to the richest, would have had to pay the sum necessary for the reconstruction of the altar, a reconstruction that was entrusted again to Paolo de Garviis.

Today’s altar is bricks and is a copy of the original, which has been lost: above this there are some candelabra and a recently made silver crucifix.

Above the altar there is a large marble canopy, with the rear part attached to the wall, which “protects” the altar.
Four Corinthian columns, which rest on bases also in marble with the date and signature of the author, hold the weight of the structure above. With a horizontal termination, this coverage has in the central part (the one that gives the central nave) a round arch, while the other two lateral faces are rectangular and simple. The central part has nine putti heads along the entire arch; Then, in the triangles formed by the arch (one on the right and one on the left) in the floor space there are the coat of arms of the Acquaviva (left) and that of the Piccolomini (right); Finally, higher, a rich vegetable decoration with fruits. The decorative modules are attributable to the refined Lombard Renaissance style.
In addition, in the chapel until the seventies there was the painting depicting Sant’Anna, Maria Bambina and San Gioacchino (the Madonna family) of the seventeenth -century Florentine school. After the restoration he was exhibited in the Chapter Museum. In this chapel the members of the Acquaviva family were buried; After Napoleon’s law, which prohibited the burial of the bodies in churches (1811) and the removal of these from places of worship, all the tombs of the Cathedral (and therefore also those of the Acquaviva) were destroyed, with the consequent loss of the tomb slabs .

Madonna del Latte among the saints Antonio Abate, Reparata (?) And Berardo (?) [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The fresco is located very close to the Acquaviva chapel and it is thought that before the construction of the altar this fresco also occupied the entire back wall. The central part of this work was received, depicting the Madonna who breastfeeds the child (the Madonna del Latte precisely) between three saints: Antonio Abate and two others who according to some would have been repaired and Berardo. The fresco was made in the fourteenth century by the teacher of Offida, identified by some with Luca D’Atri (although not if you do not have a certain documentary reference ^[7] ).

The fresco, with a very dark blue background, is contained within a frame painted with rich plant decorations. In the center is the Madonna who breastfeeds the child: the Virgin, whose flight has been lost, is sitting in a precious marble throne with a checkerboard. To the left of the Virgin is the figure of a saint with a crown, dressed in a precious red dress but whose hands (which had to support the attributes) have been lost. According to some, it can be Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, for others instead Santa reparata martyr, patron of the diocese of Teramo-ATRI. Then follows Sant’Antonio Abate, a very revered saint in Abruzzo and to which many celebrations are dedicated, even in Atri. The saint is bald (with some tufts of gray hair around the ears), has a severe look and a long white beard; His dress is the classic one of the hermit monk, with a black and white tunic cloak and hood. The right hand holds the ta -shaped stick, classic attribute. To the left of the Madonna is the figure, of which only the upper part remains (from the chest up) of a holy bishop, perhaps San Berardo, patron of the diocese together with Santa Reparata. San Berardo, in fact, was bishop of Teramo and was subsequently canonized and therefore proclaimed patron of the diocese. Next to this figure there are pieces of clothes and fingers, which suggest that the fresco was much more extensive and included more figures.

Frescoes of the XIV-XV century [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

There are some frescoes, datable between the early fourteenth and the first half of the fifteenth century, some well preserved, others instead preserved only in part.

• San Giacomo Maggiore and Santa Caterina da Siena : fresco most likely made around 1360 by Andrea da Bologna (1335-1370) and his school. On a yellow and blue background these two slender figures stand out, interesting and beautiful above all Santa Caterina, at whose feet a well -dressed woman kneels, certainly the client.
• Sant’Ambrogio? : fresco of the first half of the fifteenth century, most likely made by a local or in any case Abruzzo painter. There is a Bishop’s Holy Bishop under the porch of a church (portico depicted with little perspective); This saint is identified by many with Sant’Ambrogio, because there are some attributes that trace the bishop of Milan: the six -pointed stars on the mitria and the Bible in the left hand. Also interesting is the red house, rich in diamonds and rubies, and the white tunic under this. The double painted frame that delimits the fresco is also of a certain value.
• 4 feel : There are four small frescoes, each separated by a rich yellow painted frame with many decorations, made at the beginning of the fifteenth century by an unknown painter, perhaps local, with a certain skill. The fresco is located on a semi -colonna: the lower part is not completely preserved, while the upper one has been preserved integrated and the figure of San Festo is recognized there.
• Saint Franciscan nun : The fresco is of an unknown painter of the early fifteenth century and depicts a holy Franciscan nun, of the order of the Clarisse, whose presence at Atri dates back to 1250-1260. We are not sure that the fresco depicts Santa Chiara, since there is no particular attribute and also the central part has been lost. The saint brings a brown tunic and a white veil; His gaze is severe. The woman’s neck is very striking, Tozzo and very disproportionate to the whole figure. The work is located under a painted arch.
• Remains of frescoes : Above the fresco of the Santa Franciscana there are the remains of a single fresco, perhaps of the fifteenth century, with two fake marble and columns bases: they had to be the lower part of a fresco depicting some saints.

The Madonna del Cardellino [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

This fresco is excellently preserved: in fact only the left side and the top have been partly lost.
The work is attributed to the teacher of Offida, of the end of the fourteenth century, and is valuable for the lively color (light blue, dark blue, yellow, red …) and the delicacy of the faces of the characters. The fresco represents the Madonna and Child and the Saints Giovanni Battista, Giovanni Evangelista and Santo Bishop. The Madonna is located in the central part; It is dressed in a long blue mantle and is sitting on a marble throne with a back covered by a red curtain. The Virgin holds the little Jesus close to himself, who is standing on his mother’s knees and brings a yellow residence of precious Foggia: the child is in a close interview with St. John the Baptist, to the left of the Virgin, and brings his classic attributes ( Red cloak, camel leather, long hair, beard), while his gaze expresses sadness, perhaps remembering the fact that he will have to die beheaded or thinking about the fate of the cousin Jesus, who will have to die on the cross to save men from sins. The little Jesus offers cousin a small bird, the goldfinch, a symbol of his martyrdom, hence the name of the fresco. To the right of the Virgin to observe the scene is St. John the Evangelist, dressed in yellow and red, with the bottle for the ink and the Gospel of Giovanni in his hands open to the first chapter: In the beginning it was the verb and the verb was .. .
To close the fresco there is everything that remains of a figure portraying a Holy Bishop (as can be seen from the pastoral and clothing) which the head was lost and in the absence of attributes it was not possible to identify the saint . The background of the fresco, of the same color as the cloak of the Virgin, light blue, and the painted frame that surrounds the fresco, decorated with plant and geometric motifs are also precious.

Frescoes of the thirteenth-XIV century [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

These frescoes are:

• Fresco fragment : It is located on a semi -colonna and it is all that remains of a small fresco of the fourteenth century depicting a saint or a saint. In the fragment there is a hair surmounted by an aura; The background is blue and the frame painted is double.
• San Michele Arcangelo : fresco detached from the church of San Liberatore (or Cappella dei Caduti) during the renovation of this between 1918 and 1920. It was therefore transported to the Concatadrale. Once he erroneously attributed to Luca D’Atri, the fresco dates back to the second half of the thirteenth century and is in a Byzantine style. San Michele, winged, is depicted with the typical Byzantine armor and with a spear kills a green snake symbol of the devil. The background is blue and the frame is double.
• Santa (Santa Liberata?) : This fresco once was once in the church of San Liberatore and then detached and brought to a panel in the coat. This is also of the same era and style of the previous one and this has also been erroneously attributed to Luca Di Atri. The saint, whose face went partly lost, brings a veil to the head and brings a very precious dress, typical of the time. In the left hand it holds a cartouche and has a large halo; As in San Michele, here too the background is blue and the frame is double. Some experts recognize, without a precise foundation, in the figure that of Santa Liberata.

Altar of San Nicola dei Sarti [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The altar was erected in the sixteenth century, in Renaissance style, and belonged to the Confraternity of San Nicola dei Sarti, as can be seen from the inscription on the top (company of San Nicola Vescovo). Tradition has it that an Arab merchant, in the second half of the fifteenth century, had to come from the East for business in Atri. During the journey he came across a strong storm and despite being Muslim, he voted to San Nicola: if he had made him feel healthy and except at the port he would have converted and would have erected an altar in his honor. Then, he arrived healthy and except at the port of Cerrano (the ancient port of Atri), asked to be baptized in the church of San Nicola next to the port; Then he climbed to Atri and, after making luck, expenses the money earned to build an altar in honor of San Nicola in the Coissance of Atri. The altar was entrusted to the tailors of the city, who associated themselves by giving life to the Confraternity of San Nicola dei Sarti; The confraternity then reconstructed the altar in the sixteenth century. The Confraternity was extinct between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The altar is all in limestone. The lower part presents the table of the altar recently redone. Two Corinthian columns, hold the upper part, with the eardrum and a band where it is written Society Divi Nicholas Ep. (Company of the star Nicola Vescovo, or San Nicola Vescovo). At the top there is the coat of arms of the Confraternity. The central part of the altar has a lunetted space, with a very refined keystone and two heads of puttini on the sides, where the canvas of the Madonna and Child between Angels and the Saints Nicola and Omobono is located (called Madonna delle Grazie). The canvas is of a skilled Roman painter of the late eighteenth century: in fact it is in neoclassical style. Above, between clouds and putti, the figure of the Madonna and Child stands, while a little lower, on the sides there are the figures of San Nicola Vescovo, with a long white beard, and Sant’Omobono, patron of the tailors And with the classic clothing of the tailors of the time. Two chubby putti holds the attributes of San Nicola (pastoral, book, three golden balls), another putto holds the attributes of Sant’Omobono and also symbols of the confraternity (the scissors, the needle and the thread); At the bottom there is a view of the city of Atri, with the bell towers of the church of Sant’Agostino and Santa Maria Assunta and the dome of Santa Reparata. Another bell tower is recognized, on the left, which was to belong to the church of San Leonardo, demolished in the sixties. Next to this altar, on the left, there are: fresco of the Madonna della Misericordia, of the fifteenth century of Abruzzo painter (above), a plaque reminiscent of the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1985 (at the center) and a medieval waterstrack (down).

Frescoes of the XV-XVI century [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Next to various recent tombstones reminiscent of various events, you arrive at a series of frescoes dated between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The former are found on a semi -colonna and only the lower part remained, with the village and tunics and clothes of saints; they date back to the end of the fifteenth century.
Then there is a fresco depicting San Bernardino da Siena, of discreet workmanship, made in 1451 and depicting the saint according to the official iconography. The background is blue and the double frame; The date is also located on the frame, in Arab characters. The work is of a local painter (according to some the mysterious John of Cristoforo) and takes on great importance because it is one of the first depictions of the saint, canonized in 1450 (and the fresco was carried out only a year later): in addition, the Postulator of the canonization process was the same bishop of Atri, Giovanni da Palena.
Then follows a representation of the prudent Virgin, with a bright candle, made in the fifteenth century by an unknown painter. In the double frame of the fresco we read two dates: 1477 and 1512; Most likely 1477 is the date of realization, while 1512 that of a partial renovation.
Finally, there is a fragment of fresco of the end of the fifteenth-century-early sixteenth century.
Finally there is the eighteenth -century wrought iron gate, which enters the church of Santa Reparata.

Remains of Santa Maria de Atria and fresco [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

At the bottom of the right nave there are other remains of the primitive church of Santa Maria de Hatria, even if they are less conspicuous than those of the left nave. Here the passage is only preserved, now closed, which from the church entered the cistern below. In front of this passage, until 1763 there was the baptistery here, then moved to the current position. On the back wall of the right nave there is a fresco of the first half of the sixteenth century, with typical characters of Umbrian and Abruzzo painting: the fresco depicts a blessing Christ, with white clothes. The fresco background is yellow and the painted frame is blue.

Central nave [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In the central nave there are the Acquasantiere and the eight columns (four on the right side and four on the left side) decorated with very prevented frescoes dated between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Acquasantiere [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

There are two aquasters: leaning against the first columns on both sides.
The one on the left side was built in the 16th century in limestone.
The stem that holds the basin rests on a small octagonal base and is decorated with scales. At the center of the stem there is a node decorated with plant elements. The Bacinella of the Holy Water has a darker color than the rest of the Acquas triggering (most likely it is of another type of stone) and has quite large strie.

The other aquasantry, on the right side, is the most characteristic and is one of the curiosities of the Church. Above a high octagonal brick base, there is a limestone sculpture depicting a woman in the traditional clothes of Atri. The work dates back to the sixteenth century and takes on particular importance because it makes it clear that the traditional dress of Atri has existed since the Renaissance (even if it presents some differences). In addition, the woman, instead of supporting a basin or a basket, holds the Bacinella of the Holy Water on the head (which is very simple). The female figure, with loose hair, gets up his skirt to walk better and not stumble; He has no shoes and walk barefoot. The neckline of the dress is quite wide. Over the head spare (pronounce sparkle ), the typical piece of fabric that is rolled up on the head to cushion the weight of the basket or basin (in this case of the basin). The face of the woman, albeit almost completely canceled today, suggests a proud and impassive look again, given that the woman is aware of the importance of her role (bring holy water). The ATRians have given him a fairly particular name, La Truccuette (pronounce la trucculeett ), which has a meaning similar to that of “Nana”. According to the ATRian tradition, in the period in which it was carved it was the subject of disagreements within the Athrian clergy: in fact many considered that too sensual sculpture for a sacred place (since it has uncovered legs and a large neckline) and also someone, perhaps On order of the bishop, he canceled his face. Also according to the local tradition, the woman had a lotus flower in his hand in his right hand, which was then eliminated because according to the bishop of time he made the sculpture even more sensual.

Frescoes of the columns [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

1st left column

In the first left column there are only remains of larger frescoes of the fourteenth century.

2nd left column

There are:

• Sant’Antonio Abate : fresco of the first half of the fifteenth century largely preserved. The saint, with a hieratic look, is sitting, with the typical hermit dress, with a thick beard and the ta -shaped stick with the bell. The fresco is the work of the Umbrian-Tuscan school.
• Saint monk : fresco of the second half of the fourteenth century depicting a saint monk (Benedictine or Celestino?), With a little beard on the face and with a black cap. The gaze is turned to the viewer and the hand holds a t -shaped stick; Under the saint, perhaps, once there was to be the figure of the client, given that there is a color fall that has the shape of a kneeling person. The background is blue and the frame is double, with a rich geometric decoration at the top.
• San Lorenzo : perhaps the work of an Abruzzese painter from the second half of the fourteenth century, the saint is depicted there with a deacon’s guise and the typical attributes. The gaze of the saint is interesting, severe and turned towards the faithful. The frame is double and the background is blue.

3rd left column

• Madonna di Loreto : fresco made around 1460 by Andrea De Litio, who worked a lot to Atri especially in the Co -metal. We do not know why this fresco is called Madonna di Loreto, given that it does not present any attribute of that iconography. According to some, the flower is one of the symbols of the Madonna di Loreto (also present in other works) and in this fresco it is present. The elegant figure of the Madonna, dressed in a precious gold -embroidered dress, offers the flower to the child he has on his arm; For his part, the child is intrigued to the sight of the flower and tries to take it. The face of the Virgin hints at a smile and looks at the visitor. The Virgin, straight, is inside a precious gothic canopy rectum by angels and who all look towards the viewer. Of the canopy, however, only the base and the four columns remained, while the upper part has been lost. The floor is in perspective and checkerboard.
• Christ in pity : The fresco dates back to the second half of the fourteenth century and shows some influences of the Giottesca school. This fresco represents a very common subject at the time and also subsequently: the Christ in Pietà, also called “the symbols of the passion”: the Christ is standing on the grave, with his eyes closed, his head slightly reclined, the crossed hands . On the hands, on the feet and on the side there are the signs of the passion. On the sides of Christ there are all the symbols of the passion, such as the cross, the bag with thirty money and the spear. Only the upper part remained of this fresco: the body of Christ until the chest and only some symbols of the passion. The remaining part was destroyed when a marble table was inserted with an inscription.

4th left column

• Madonna on the throne with child : The fresco, preserved in a fragmentary way (only the upper part has remained intact), is delicate work of Antonio Martini di Atri, called Antonio D’Atri, the maximum Abruzzo painter of the second half of the fourteenth century. The Madonna is sitting under an elegant Gothic canopy; In his arms he holds the little Jesus. The figure of the Virgin, especially the face recalls the other Madonnas made by the painter, like that of Chieti.
• Fresco fragment : fragment representing most likely a saint, of the XIV-XV century.
• San Sebastiano : quite well preserved fresco (a color fall in the center and some other falls on the sides). It was made in the mid -fifteenth century, most likely by a Marche artist; There are some references to Gothic art. The saint depicted, San Sebastiano, is located in the center of the fresco: the martyr is located inside a Gothic marble newsstand and undergoing martyrdom: with his hands linked on the ceiling of the investigation, it is pierced by many arrows. Even if the face is almost faded, it is noted that the saint turns his gaze towards an angel, with clothes and wings of clear Gothic style, in the extreme left side. The angel brings the palm to the saint, a symbol of martyrdom. The background is blue and green and the frame (of which only one part left has remained) is Gothic with white, blue and red bands.
• Santa Caterina : The fresco is from the second half of the fifteenth century and depicts a saint inside a rich canopy. Although this saint has no attribute, it has always been identified with Santa Caterina, even if it has not specified as (that of Alexandria, martyr, or that of Siena, Dominican nun?). There are many references to the art of Andrea De Litio and some have hypothesized that the fresco may be the work of this artist or at least of his school. In fact, the canopy, with the rich torchion columns, is similar to those of the de lithium, the same mantle and its panneggio della saint is a reference to that of the Madonna di Loreto made in this church, the face (even if faded) is typical of his art. According to some, this would be a Madonna, even if in this case there would be an anomaly that would make the fresco one of the few of this kind: the fresco is not part of a cycle, it is therefore “independent”, and appears strange that The Virgin does not have the child in the arms but the hands arrived in prayer.
• Sant’Antonio Abate : fresco of the first half of the fifteenth century of the Umbrian-Abruzzese school, with references to the art of Ottaviano Nelli. The medium -sized fresco has remained intact only in the upper part, until the saint’s chest. The saint, with severe gaze, looks at the faithful, has few hair and a thick gray beard. He dresses a long brown tunic complete with a hood that covers his head and with his right hand holds the T -shaped stick with a bell. The frame is double (red and yellow) and the background is light green.
• Santo Bishop with mill mill : the fresco, stored only in the upper and central part, depicts a Holy Bishop, with Casula Verde and Mitria; In the hands he holds a mill mill. The saint, bearded, turns his gaze towards the viewer. However, it was not possible to identify which saint depicts and the hypotheses are still ongoing: in fact the mill mill could be the instrument of his martyrdom. The fresco, with a blue background and with double setting, dates back to the second half of the fifteenth century and has various points of contact with the art of De Lithium, perhaps it is the work of his school.

1st right column

Perhaps due to the insertion of the aquasantine, or above all due to the plastering suffered in 1656, the frescoes of this column have disappeared, except one, but lost in the central band. This fragment of fresco, dating back to the fourteenth century and with Giotteschi influences (perhaps of the master of Offida or Luca D’Atri), depicts a saint, with a smiling face, blonde hair and a crown in the head.

2nd column on the right

In the second column there are:

• Saint martyr : The fresco dates back to the fourteenth century and shows Giottesca influences. The saint depicted is unknown, but it is certainly a martyr since he carries the palm in his hand. On the head there is also a crown that makes it clear that the saint had to be queen or in any case noble. With his right hand he blesses the client kneeling at his feet.
• Santo Bishop (San Clemente?) : The fresco, which has been lost in the lower part and partly also in the central part, depicts a golden bishop, therefore saint, sitting on a seat with a cream -colored pivial and rich golden embroidery. The pastoral that holds in the hands (covered with precious white gloves) is valuable and golden; With a hand blessed. The saint’s gaze is absorbed to look at the faithful, with a thick gray beard. The background is water green and the double frame. The fresco dates back to the second half of the fifteenth century: here too we find points of contact with the art of De Lithium and perhaps the intervention of one of his pupils is assumed (perhaps with the help of the master himself), or much more likely a Abruzzese painter who resumes the style of the De Lithium and (albeit much less)) the more Renaissance ones of Marche painters, such as those of Camerino and San Severino Marche.

3rd right column

The frescoes of this column are all perfectly preserved and have found new light after the recent restoration.

• Madonna adoring the child : very well preserved even if the lower part is almost completely lost. The fresco was made in 1465 by Andrea De Litio together with the student Giovanni di Varese (but for others it is the client ^[8] ), as indicated also in the registration below. The fresco resumes the type of the Abruzzo Madonna (which is widespread in regional sculpture, where, however, she landed only from around 1470) with the Madonna sitting while in prayer she loves the child on the knees. The child has his head slightly raised and with his eyes facili he turns to the faithful. Together with some frescoes of the choir always in this church, this is the only Madonna of De Litio to have the head discovered: it is also similar, if not the same, to some Madonnas of the Choir of Atri also made this head discovered and for some He could depict the painter’s wife. In the lower part, the edge of the clothes of the Virgin and part of the client’s dress remain, in addition to the registration (mutila) … right made the item Johanes of Varese A (500) / (Hon) Orem (BE) Ate Virgin Mary 1465 ; The background is a small red and blue apse and the frame is dark ocher. Unfortunately we cannot distinguish with certainty what parts to respect the two painters respectively, even if certainly a large part of the realization is of the de lithium.
• San Cristoforo : The fresco, lost in the lower part, is of an unknown painter of the 16th century. It depicts a saint with blonde hair up to the shoulders and wears typical clothes of sixteenth -century travelers; The hands arrived in prayer and the fairly wrinkled face, which suggest a man in the fifties, has absorbed eyes and turned towards the faithful. In the saint depicted (the man is golden) the Atrians see St. Cristoforo (even if the fresco does not have any attribute of the saint); Critics are more cautious, the saint depicted perhaps can never be identified for his poor iconography, according to others it is the blessed Nicola, whose veneration however began to spread a few centuries later. The background is white and the red frame.
• Santa Salazia (?) : The fresco dates back to the end of the fourteenth century and is the work of a refined late Gothic painter, with French and above all Sienese influences, and this made one think of a painter of the Siena pictorial school. The saint is located under a precious Gothic newsstand with two medallions that promise the works of the Renaissance. The saint, depicted in hieratic laying, hints at a smile and looks fixed the faithful; Blond hair, visible thanks to a veil that descends to the shoulders, are curled behind the neck. The head of the saint with the halo has a crown that perhaps indicates its nobility or means martyrdom. The precious embroidered brown tunic, which descends light up to the feet, covers a red tunic (whose sleeves are visible) and has two pockets on the sides. The yellow cloak that descends from the shoulders, also embroidered, is slightly raised from the ground with the right hand, while the left hand holds a Turkey. Precisely the presence of the Turin made it assumed that the martyr depicted is Santa Palazia (who died in the third century), which also has as attribute the Turusian or the spacecraft. The background is blue, while the frame is with white, red and green bands.
• Madonna and Child : fresco of the second half of the fourteenth century of the Master of Offida, with his usual Giotteschi influences. The fresco is quite well preserved, given that only the central part is missing, and has found new splendor after the recent restoration. The Virgin is sitting on a golden marble throne with plant decorations, which has a cuspid back; The Virgin turns his hieratic gaze towards the faithful, while that of the child is lost in the direction of the mother’s coat. The cloak of the Virgin is brown with golden borders and goes down to the feet; Under this mantle there is an embroidered veil that covers the garment. The tunic we wear, also this golden edge, is of a bright red. The golden halo was faded by tending to a gray-aerial. The serious child is sitting on his mother’s knees and is quite robust; His well -preserved aureola has the red cross of the redemption in the middle. The baby is dressed in a yellow tunic with a green coat. The lower part of the fresco shows the step of the throne, the edges of the tunic and the mantle.
• St. John Baptist : made by Antonio Martini di Atri between the end of the fourteenth century and the beginning of the fifteenth century, during the return to the native city between 1397 and 1410, with Marche and Emilian influences combined with those of his Sienese formation. The saint is depicted, penitent, sitting along the rocky banks of the Giordano, who after a short waterfall goes to form a small lake (symbolizing the Tiberiade lake). Giovanni Battista, dressed with a view of the camel and a green apple cloak, holds a bowl with the Jordan’s water with which he used to baptize and a roll with a sacred step that is not very legible in his skeletal hands. With the index of the right hand it indicates the agnus dei (lamb of God) which symbolizes Christ, in the background. Around thegnus of the there are some high trees to form a forest. The feature is not given so much by the landscape, from the woods and by the Lamb, but from the figure of the saint. The saint is depicted with many wrinkles, old, elderly, thin, with long hair and a thick beard, with a long cloak and a tunic made of camel skin and with penetrating eyes, severi, which fix the viewer, witness of the strong expressiveness that the painter of Atri gave to his figures. The frame is with red, yellow, black and white alternating bands. The fresco is well preserved, some color falls and plaster only in the lower part.
• The saints Nicola and Caterina d’Alessandria : The fresco, very valuable, dates back to the end of the fourteenth century and is a splendid work of the late Gothic. The attribution to Luca D’Atri is now considered erroneous, also given the differences in style, while everyone today assigns the fresco in the Sienese area, precisely to the school of Simone Martini (to whom Luca D’Atri had also gone but offering more towards Giotto’s way). There are in fact, in this fresco, the references to the painter of Siena pupil of Duccio di Buoninsegna: the figures of the saints and the architectures seem to be taken up by the frescoes he made in Assisi. Furthermore, in this church, at the end of the fourteenth century many Sienese school artists operated (whose frescoes, however, have been lost or in any case limited to very few lachers), and according to some (but without foundation) the same Bartolo di Fredi and Paolo Di Giovanni Fei . In this fresco, the saints are placed under a Gothic double -sided double -sided with human and vegetable motifs. San Biagio is depicted with the white mitria in the lead, with white beard and severe and penetrating looks that fix the faithful. The slightly reclined head makes the effect even more evident. The Holy Bishop brings a white shirt covered by a green house lined with a pink color; The hands are covered with white gloves. With his left hand he holds a rich golden pastoral care, while with his right he takes a little man for his hair that represents the young adeodate, the host killed by his customers that the saint had resurrected. The nimbus surrounding his boss was then repainted to make room for an aura, even if the rays are still visible. Santa Caterina d’Alessandria is instead depicted beautiful, young and dressed in a princely dress at the last fashion. The head is surrounded by a halo and is surrounded by a crown; Long copper -colored hair start from the head. The saint, with candid skin, also looks at the faithful, but his gaze is less severe and becomes sweeter. The hands hold two more crowns. The saint is surrounded by the four tooth wheels with which he suffered martyrdom (tradition has it that the wheel was only one, but another version says that the wheels were four united with each other, in the middle of which the saint was). The fresco is delimited on the sides by the two slender columns of the mullioned window, while the background is blue; The frame is red. The work is perfectly preserved, with small falls of color only on the sides and in the lower part; Another small color fall is at the foot of San Nicola.
• San Sebastiano : fresco made around 1470 by the school of Andrea De Litio. At one time it was believed to be of the same de lithium but, the hardest and most dry style, the harshness of the saint’s face, the columns that are not really straight, have directed the critics to a painter of his school. The saint is placed under a late Gothic newsstand with three monofor: one (the largest) in the center, the other two smaller ones on the sides. The wooden ceiling is chest of drawers and the marble column with Corinthian capital hangs from the ceiling where the saint is linked, pierced by many arrows. The saint’s face is turned upside down, with a semiaperta mouth and your eyes safe. The hair is wavy with some curls. Behind the saint there is a red curtain with golden scabbard. The fresco is kept only in the upper and central part, while the lower one has been lost. The painted frame reproduces a fake travertine decoration.

4th right column

Particularity of this column is that the frescoes (all preserved even if with gaps) compared to those of the other columns that are of different authors and eras, are here of a single painter, Antonio Martini di Atri, and his shop. The frescoes were made during the return of the painter to Atri, then between 1397 and 1410.

• San Michele Arcangelo : the fresco has color falls in several points: in the upper part, where only the chin and some strand of hair remains of the head; in the central part where the hands are no longer visible; And in the lower part, where the figure of the devil and also of the frame almost disappeared. The iconography of the saint is curious: in fact San Michele usually wears a armor and pierces the devil with a sword or a spear, while here he dresses precious clothes, while he makes the devil capitulate by crushing him simply with his foot (even if the diabolical figure it is no longer visible). The saint is located under an arch with late Gothic decorations.
• San Giovanni Evangelista (?) : once with faded colors, the restoration has gathered the ancient splendor. Under a Gothic newsstand loudly lined with two columns with Corinthian capitals, there is the saint who, young, with his gaze turned to the end, holds a book with his left hand (most likely a Gospel) and with his right a nib. The hair is orange and with a jewelry at the top. The guise is red and the pink coat with green sheath. Although there is no documentation and not even the iconography of the saint comes to help us, the saint depicted would be St. John the evangelist. The background is blue and the frame is with red stripes, white and yellow.
• San Cristoforo : the fresco, perfectly preserved, depicts the saint with a whole figure with the typical iconography. The saint, dressed with a dress and pink cloak held alive by a cord, holds the child Jesus with his right hand on his shoulders dressed in a blue tuniche, while with his left he holds the flowery stick. The saint is immersed in the water to the knees. Legend has it that the saint, then martyred, has transported the Child Jesus without knowing it on the shoulders from one bank to the other of the river. Only after Christ did he reveal himself and made the Saint’s stick flourish. The background is blue, while the frame with yellow, black, white and red bands.
• The Trinity with three faces : precious fresco, a certain work by Antonio Martini, very interesting for the iconogrophy of the Trinity. There is represented to you, with a book in hand and dressed in a white tunic, with three faces representing the Father and the Holy Spirit (the other three people of the Trinity after Christ, the Son). The figure, with the smiling and golden face, looks intensely the faithful. The Trinity with three faces is located under a rich late Gothic newsstand, with human faces and foliage, which seems to anticipate the Renaissance style. The background is blue and the red and white frame. The peculiarity of the fresco is due precisely to the iconography of the Trinity: in ancient times it was represented with three faces, but since they derided by the Protestants (who called it “the Catholic Cerberus”) the Pope already in the sixteenth century had made the iconography of the Trinity change. But above all in the most remote locations, such as the mountains of Northern Italy, the ancient iconography of the Trinity continued to exist and thus at the end of the seventeenth century Pope Innocent XII abolished that image and made them destroy, replacing them with the current and classic iconography of the Trinity. Only a few were saved, particularly in the church in the high mountains. Atri’s fresco managed to survive, because the church frescoes were covered since 1656 by plaster, to avoid the contagion of the plague that caused many deaths in that year especially in the kingdom of Naples.
• Sant’onofrio : Most of the body, as a face, arms, legs and feet, has been lost. From what little that has remained you can see a saint with long hair and with a long beard and you can also see the halo. With his right hand he holds a host. The background is blue and the canopy above late Gothic mold.
• Holy : lost the figure of the saint, of which some trace of the black guise remain on the right; The space occupied by the Aureola is also recognized. The background is of a very dark blue, complete with a very decorated late Gothic style canopy.
• San Lazzaro : depicts the saint at the moment of his resurrection, made by Jesus. All the other characters are not depicted, only Lazzaro. The saint, wrapped in white bandages, sets himself in a prayer position, standing on the grave. The face was lost. Everything within a simple newsstand. The background is blue and green, while the fiery red, dark red and white band frame.
• San Nicola da Tolentino : the fresco was lost in the central part and partly in the lower part. San Nicola da Tolentino is depicted with the typical dress of the Augustinians, while praising (even if the hands are no longer visible) in front of a glass with a host, which is located above an altar. The haloesh saint is under a simple Tardogotic newsstand, the work of a very modest pupil of Antonio D’Atri who copys the most successful compositions of the Maestro with little results. The background is blue and green and the frame with white and red bands.

The presbytery: the Choir of the Canons [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The presbytery is placed at the bottom of the central nave but it is a structure in its own right, raised through some steps from the naved plane. Here is the altar, on which the mass is celebrated. The presbytery is called by everyone Canonic choir , or more simply choir , because the canons of the chapter of the Duomo took place here. Before the restoration of 1954-1964, the presbytery was reachable through a few steps and there was also a marble balustrade. The altar had been completely redone in marble after the Tridentine and original reform was left only the paliotto; In addition, the wooden canopy had been put on the altar. The twentieth -century restorations allowed a return to the original forms: the entire marble structure on the altar was removed, the balustrade and the canopy moved to the church of Santa Reparata eliminated. Furthermore, during these restorations under the presbytery, archaeological finds were found: it was what remained of the Roman spas and other adjacent structures. Mobile objects, such as columns and slabs, were exhibited in the cloister of the Chapter Museum and then passed partly to the archaeological one. The remains of the wall structures, however, not being able to be transported, were made to remain on site; So to show the finds better, the works manager Guglielmo Mathiae had the whole presbytery raised and covered a large part of its surface with windows that would allow the view of the underlying finds (the glass boys were redone in the last restorations of 2003-2008 ).
You can access the presbytery from the staircase that departs in front of it (and which creates a great scenographic effect) also by two other small and short stairs that are located between the second column of the right side and the front wall.

Remains of the Roman spas and adjacent structures [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

From the glass boys that cover the surface of the presbytery, the archaeological remains below can be seen, discovered in the twentieth -century restorations and restored in 2008, referred to Roman spas and adjacent structures. A hexagonal tub is preserved, which perhaps belonged to a grocery , other remains inherent in the spa and some mosaics to black cards dated to the second century AD. Second Mathias out of vinegar ^{[ without source ]} . Mosaics depict fish and dolphins. Just behind the altar there are three other boys from which you can see another rest of the building and two mosaics to always black cards of the second century AD. and also depicting fish.

Altar [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The altar is located at the center of the presbytery. It was built in the second half of the XII century in marble, but the canteen was redone in 1570 with red stone, while the paliotto that the orna on the side turned towards the nave was performed in 1223. The Paliotto is an interesting example of Romanesque sculpture, which refers to the best known decorations of the church of San Clemente al Vomano, and is in white marble with red stucco decorations with inserts (very small and visible only by approaching and looking carefully) of green, yellow and black breaches. The author is a certain ‘Raulino’, who signs himself: Raulino made me . Among the precious decorations of red stucco, which stand out on the white marble and form particular designs, stand out a round bas -relief with a bull head (alluding to the Old Testament) and a white space in the shape of a lamb around a red stucco round depicting the ‘Agnus Dei, which alludes to the New Testament.
In the part facing the choir wall, there is a particular decoration consisting of very similar branches that form 18 squares. Most likely this “retropaliotto” was performed in the same period.

Medieval frescoes [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The choir has four columns, two on the right and as many on the left. The second columns on the right and left have, in the part facing the naves, medieval frescoes of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: they once also adorned the part of columns facing the choir, but they were covered or destroyed when Andrea De Litio there his frescoes. In the second column on the right we can find a saint martyr, a San Giovanni da Capestrano (this depicted with a very curious iconography, complete with armor and cruciferous banner) and a delicate Madonna and Child, all made between the end of the fourteenth century and the First half of the fifteenth century, the work of the shop of Antonio D’Atri. On the second left column there are a fresco depicting two saints in the interview (one of which supports his arm on the shoulder of the other saint) of the second half of the fourteenth century and the master of Offida, as well as remains of frescoes of the fourteenth century.

The frescoes of Andrea De Lithio [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The most famous work of the cachecaria, which is why it attracts many tourists and scholars, are the frescoes that adorn the walls, columns and the vault of the choir, the work of Andrea De Litio. For this reason, they are known as the frescoes of the choir or like the frescoes of Andrea De Litio, given that this great work, made up of 101 frescoes (or panels) is the masterpiece of this painter and is among the main artistic expressions of central Italy e Southern, in addition to being among the cycles of larger frescoes in Abruzzo. In addition, it is the maximum expression of the Abruzzo Renaissance. Andrea De Litio is one of the most important painters of the Italian Renaissance, although it presents some late Gothic notes because of his first apprenticeship at the Master of the Triptych of Benffi. After knowing their moment of glory, the frescoes of the choir fell into oblivion and the author and dating were no longer known. This situation lasted until, in 1897, the historian Athrian Luigi Sorricchio attributed this great work to Andrea De Litio for the first time, bringing the interest back to these frescoes, however already restored in 1824 by the Ricciardone Bishop who saved them from water infiltrations. The attribution of smile was confirmed in the 1940s by historians such as Federico Zeri and Ferdinando Bologna. The frescoes are divided into several parts: on the three walls of the choir (of which the basic one the largest) there are the scenes of Mary’s life, which tells the life of the Madonna; On the columns some representations of saints; on the triumphal and on the small side ones other depictions of saints; On the vault the evangelists, the doctors of the Church and the cardinal and theological virtues
They were made in two phases: between 1460 and 1470 the life of Mary were performed, the saints on the columns (even if these perhaps a few years later, around 1475) and those on the arches, while between 1480 and 1481 The decoration of the vault was performed. These two distinct phases (1460- 1470 and 1480-1481) are also evident in style: the frescoes of Mary’s life and saints have a less evolved character, even if of a high level, while those of the vault have newer characters, adhering More to the Renaissance style visible in the volumetric figures and perspectives. Various characteristics have these frescoes, especially those of Mary’s life: meanwhile I am not a simple sacred story, but also a “book” of the company and the Atian and Abruzzo culture of the time: in fact the various scenes often present some references to the Abruzzo tradition ( For example, the fireplace in the birth of the Virgin) and also the same landscape recalls both the Marsican one, the area of ​​origin of the painter, the Padano dish (area where the painter has visited) and the Athrian one with the typical calanche.

Note also the cities depicted, views of Atri and the surroundings, and the old port of Cerrano. Furthermore, there is also a representation of the ATRIANA company: nobles in their pomp, but also popular people engaged in their chores, and children intent on playing. These frescoes were all subject to the last restoration.

Life of Mary [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The frescoes develop on the three walls of the choir; The episodes depicted are 22, interspersed with depictions of ancient columns, festoons and windows where there are the portraits of eminent characters of the fifteenth century (including the same young Duke Andrea Matteo III Acquaviva, who was together with Bishop Antonio Probi the client of the frescoes). Under each episode once there were inscriptions, which during the seventeenth century were partially modified but some were destroyed, so much so that today only 14 frescoes preserved the ancient explanatory writing. Many writing errors can be found, given that at the time the Italian was at the beginning and during the renovation of the seventeenth century, some words were modified by mixing dialect and Italian. Before the realization of the frescoes, here there were other frescoes that also told the life of the Virgin, made by Luca D’Atri in the mid -fourteenth century: this were then covered but largely destroyed with the realization of those of the de lithium, Although some fragments can be seen in the resurrection scene. The reading of the frescoes starts from above, from the 3 lunettoni, going from left to right, to reach up to a human height with the latest scenes.

In order not to leave the part under the last frescoes, the painter made a fake marble decoration.

• Carenta di Gioacchino from the temple

The cycle begins with the life of the Madonna. The fresco depicts the moment when Gioacchino, accompanied by his wife Anna, goes to the temple to offer gifts. The elderly couple had no children and according to the Jewish law they could not enter the temple: the priest then hurled Gioacchino from the temple in the presence of all. In the fresco in the center we see the figure of the priest who orders Gioacchino to leave; The father of the Madonna is chased with “the help” of a kind of “material executor” who grabs him by the neck and chest; Anna for shame hides behind a tent. On the left a couple of married people with children is about to enter, close to them mothers with the children in their arms all smiling, happy to have received the blessing of the priest. Around the altar there are elderly and leviti, while outside the temple (on the left) some children are playing. Registration reads: When Ioacim fo cachiato de lo teapio .

Gioacchino, kicked out of the temple, leaves his house and retires to the desert, where some shepherds live. Here, however, an angel warns him that he will have a child that the whole world will speak; Angelo himself repeats the announcement to Anna, closed disconsolate in his house. The three episodes are seen in the scene: Gioacchino’s departure; his stay in the desert and the apparition of the angel; The return to Jerusalem. On the left Gioacchino leaves his house with a sadness surrounded by some relatives, while a knight on horseback who is passing by there and feels compassion. In the center is Gioacchino in the desert, replaced here by a mountain landscape, who looks at the top: an angel appears to him and whose light forces him to repair his face with his hand. The angel therefore gives him the happy novel. On the right Gioacchino returns home, accompanied by a shepherd with a donkey and who brings a basket with eggs in his hand (?): This time the step is strange, it is also understood from the clothes that flutter.
The writing says: When Ioacim Ando AlluDADA- when fo by a warned Angel .

• Meeting of Gioacchino and Anna at the Aurea Porta

The same Angelo who appeared to Gioacchino then goes to Anna and brings him the same announcement: Anna then leaves the house and tries to meet the husband that she believes that he is still unaware of the news. The two meet at the Aurea gate, one of the access doors to Jerusalem: the two exchange a kiss and according to tradition is that the moment of the conception of Mary.
In the fresco the scene is very delicate: Gioacchino and Anna embrace in front of the aforementioned door, exchanging a kiss; The people around, understanding, try not to insert themselves and turn their gaze. The two girls who have accompanied Anna to lower their gaze or turn it elsewhere; A nobleman’s nobleman lowers his head and his page and his servants turn or lower their gaze. Even the animals seem to respect the sacredness of the moment: a mule full of food lowers the head and moderates the step. On the right, however, a more daily scene: a turret separates the golden door from another access door, where two young girls, with a head a basin and the “score”, speak with two wealthy young people; A low -stature old woman is torching the thread from the fortress while on the head it brings the basin with which she goes to get water to the nearby fountain (which recalls the Fonte Canale di Atri), in front of which a child plays with a dog. The landscape is hilly and bare, with some tree. The writing reads: when Iohacim Sescontro cuanna ad ortaura .

It is perhaps the best scene for the mixture between sacred story and daily life: in fact, the birth of the Madonna is presented, but what happened during a birth is also described in a house of the fifteenth century. Anna finds herself sitting on an elegant bed, she has just given birth and is about to eat: she offers her food and water. At the foot of the bed there is a wooden seat where there are a sumptuous red pillow, where a dog sleeps; On the seat is even sitting the witch , a phantom figure of the Abruzzo tradition, represented here as an old woman who is smoothing a cat: the witch pronounces her “malaugurium”, but nobody makes us too much home and indeed a girl on the other side of the bed laughs to feel those words. At the foot of the seat, there are two women who wash the little Maria, just born. On the large fireplace, an elegant example of a fifteenth -century fireplace, three women overlook: one is cooking a soup and tastes, another is drying the diaper, another instead leads to cooking food. A noble lady just arrived heads towards the new born as she rolls up a diaper. In the room a window open, from which you can see the landscape consisting of a plain with hills, a door that communicates with the adjoining room. The floor is checked with red and white pieces, while the parietal decoration is very reminiscent of the cosmatesca (to black and white tesserae), which we find in others in the choir, which de lithium had the opportunity to admire because it spread in its area of ​​origin, the Marsica. Curious to point out, near the fireplace, a swarm of swallows, which should generally be outside and not inside. On the right, a column stands out. The writing reads: When the Virgin Mary was born .

• Presentation of Maria al Tempio

Gioacchino and Anna promised God that if they had a son, at the age of three they would have offered him to the temple: and so Maria was brought to the age of three, “presented” to the priests of the Temple. Andrea De Lithium replaces the temple of Jerusalem with a three -nave church, with marble columns and a splendid cosmatesque floor, decoration that albeit in simpler format we find in the bottom walls of the lateral naves. The ceilings are in wood, those of the simple side naves and that of the chest of drawers and with floral decorations. The presbytery of the church recalls that of the Cathedral of Atri (although there are no frescoes) and the altar itself is raised compared to the nave (perhaps in the fifteenth century the presbytery was raised, then it was lowered subsequently and raised again in the twentieth century). From the church you enter a door on the right nave, while in the left nave the door to the sacristy opens: it is precisely around these two entrances that the nugolo of people is concentrated. The left nave is free to allow the passage of little Maria: it is starting to climb the stairs that will lead her to the altar, while looking at her mother Anna. In the fresco the Madonna is depicted as a teenage girl and not like a little girl. To welcome her to the altar is the priest of the Temple, depicted in the role of Bishop Antonio Probi. Behind the altar, in the distance, you can see two nobles while on the sides of the altar there are a wealthy man (left) and a small and plump chierichetto. The parents of the Virgin are found next to a column, between the left and the central nave: Anna is aware of her choice and does not approach her daughter as if she wanted to take it back, Gioacchino instead is more detached and almost hides behind the column. On the whole left nave there is a group of wealthy men with rich clothes, while on the right there are men and women of various classes: you can see a young nobleman, a woman who seems to be praying, another who holds the baby in his arms , a man with stole (perhaps a deacon), while other women and the head of a noble girl are seen behind you. Registration says: When the Virgin Maria Fo Homara Aluteppio .

• Work of Mary in the Temple

It is a perhaps unique scene, given that in the cycles of frescoes that tell the life of the Madonna does not appear: it is the work of the Virgin during his stay in the temple. The scene depicted by De Lithium is very poetic and delicate. In the meantime, we see twice the Virgin to carry out two different activities. In the foreground there is the Virgin who, sitting, slightly curved, is embroidering the frame: his work is prayer, given that that embroidery will then be offered to God; Note the rich plot of white and black threads. A peculiarity is due to the fact that the art of embroidery is typical of Abruzzo, and that in the area (at the time states of Atri) it was a specialty of atrian women. On the right two angels appear and think about setting the table, a job that the Madonna should have carried out: one of them is however ecstatic from the behavior of the Virgin and from its dedication to that work, therefore it is collected in prayer. In the background there is the wrapped virgin collected in prayer: the face is facing upwards (therefore to God) and in front of him he has the lectern with the Bible; On the window that opens on the wall, just above the Leggio, an angel also overlooks it “kidnapped” by the great devotion and love of Mary. The scene is placed in an elegant open Renaissance building: some columns hold the marble plinth where fake bas -reliefs are depicted with festoons and putti. The floor is marble, while the decoration of the walls is cosmatesca. Registration says: WHENEVER LEAELGE RAINTING LAME SIGN .

Seconds the apocryphal Gospels after the time spent at the temple, Mary had the dream of dedicating herself completely to the temple, but she was forced to take husband. The suitors were many, but the great priest established a sort of “race” in to choose the future groom: everyone should have brought a stick to the temple, and the one to whom the rod would have flourished at night would have been the bridegroom of the Virgin. The chosen one was Giuseppe, a man of Davide’s lineage, just and fearful of God. After a year he was married to Joseph, but the tradition tells that the marriage took place after the flowering of Giuseppe’s stick; In addition, a popular legend has it that Maria was only 12 years old at the time of the wedding, while Giuseppe 98! De Litio sets the scene inside a three -nave church (of Gothic style with some cosmatesque), and the scene does not take place on the altar, but at the center of the central nave. In the center, therefore, the two newlyweds are seen, Maria and Giuseppe, who are taken by the hand of the great priest and who from their way to exchange the rings. Note the expressions: the solemn one of the priest, the almost amazed one of St. Joseph, the one a little embarrassed but at the same time happy of the Madonna. The other suitors, younger than Joseph, are in the lateral naves and, as in all the works depicting the marriage of Mary, are raged and break their unrelated sticks in all ways (with their mouths, with their knees, weighing them …). Only one seems calm and looks at the married couple. Registration says: When fo married in Ioseppe .

The fresco is located right under the rose window (or circular window) which gives light to the choir; Due to the strong light emanated Andrea De Litio did not make himself prodigal and left this empty space. In the sixteenth century, to try to fill the space, the realization of a landscape was commissioned to a modest painter: the landscape is generic, and has no reference to the territory. Before the last restoration, the most damaged fresco was due to the pigeon guano. The restoration has not only allowed cleaning, but also the strengthening of the glass. There is no registration.

Maria is the Blessed among women , the immaculate conception without stain of sin. It is the chosen one for the birth of the Savior of humanity, Jesus, the Christ: it will therefore be she who for nine months will bring the Son of God into the womb, and will be Mother of it. The announcement of this important task takes place through the archangel Gabriele: the Annunciation precisely. De Lithium depicts the moment of the announcement according to the classic scheme: on the right you can see the Madonna and on the left the angel, separated by a column part of the portico to symbolize the division between the divine and humanity. The angel has just arrived and kneels: with his right hand he holds a cartouche: Do not fear, Maria, here: you will give birth and give birth to a son to whom you will name Jesus. He will be great at the very high … . The left hand holds a lily, which the angel will then offer to Mary: the lily is in fact a symbol of purity. The Virgin is kneeling and has the hands in the praying position: it lowers her head almost to symbolize the submission to God and to his will. In fact, she replies to the angel: Happen to me, as you said … . The golden words are written as a comic and come out of Mary’s mouth. Right in front of Mary’s mouth, there is the dove of the Holy Spirit, who enters Mary at the time of the announcement. Behind Maria, a door shows the bedroom: it is very simple, with a bed and a devoun curtain. The external wall of the portico has a decoration to Cosmateschi with a bas -relief in the center with the portrait of a man. In the room of the Annunciation, a large window shows the landscape, flat and hilly. The caption reads: how much the Vergine fo announced Dal Angelo .

During the Annunciation, the angel tells Mary that her cousin Elizabeth has already been pregnant for six months by the work of the Lord, so the Virgin starts with Joseph to go and find the cousin who lives near Jerusalem. The Gospel says that when Mary touched the belly of the cousin, the child in the womb of the Virgin exulted. In the fresco Elisabetta receives the cousin at the entrance of the house, under a portico with some cosmatesca decorations. Elisabetta is older than cousin, who is a young woman. Maria puts her left hand on the shoulder of the cousin, while with the left it touches the belly: the child rejoices and Elisabetta exclaims: Blessed are you among the women and blessed the fruit of your belly … .
Maria replies: My soul magnificent the Lord … , which are the first words of the Magnificat. Here too the words are “represented” as in a comic.
The handmaid that accompanies Elisabetta in a prayer position, but in order not to intrude at that intimate moment the gaze elsewhere turns. Also Giuseppe, behind Maria, turns his gaze and keeps the donkey at bay that accompanied them for the trip. The surrounding landscape is partly mountain and in the background a city with powerful walls stands out. Registration reads: When Lanostra Ando Avisitare Lisabetha .

After the nine months, Mary conceives the Son of God, Jesus. A few days after the birth he went with Joseph to Bethlehem for a census and here the Doglies caught her: no hotel could host her, being all full, and found their place only in a refuge of shepherds (who according to Luca’s Gospel was a hut, while according to apocryphals it was a cave). And here the Madonna gave birth. Nativity is still today is a theme much exploited by artists, but de lithium compared to others has paid attention to the figure of the Madonna, perhaps because the cycle tells the life of Mary and not of Christ. The iconography is the traditional one: the characters are under a hut with a canopy outside; On the right you see Giuseppe, who tired for the long journey he fell asleep, while on the left there is the virgin kneeling in the act of prayer towards the small Jesus who, unaware and awake, is lying in a manger who, however, here seems more one “almond” (very in use in the works of the Middle Ages and the first Renaissance, and symbolizes the divinity of Christ; is of oriental derivation). Behind Jesus there are the donkey and the ox who are eating hay but are also heating the little one. The exterior, on the other hand, is much richer than details: in the meantime supported on the roof there is a owl, a bird of bad hope, but that the painter has perhaps placed to dispel this rumor, making him become a greeting sign. Right above the cave there is a group of Serafini who praises the Son of God. On the left there are four shepherds with their flock: an angel appears to them that warns them of the birth of Jesus, but only two seem to respond to his announcement : The other two, on the other hand, are still resting. Note the sweet scene of a sheep who sleeps with its lamb under the feet of a shepherd. To the right of the cave, however, there is another group of shepherds, made up of five people who seem to be heading towards their companions at a lestee, perhaps intrigued by the light that appeared from the sky. The background is hilly and partly mountain: on the cocuzzoli of the reliefs, cities surrounded by walls with numerous towers rise; Note the city on the right, very large, which seems at least partially a representation of Atri: also the hill with the two hanged (a macabre scene for such a happy moment, certainly taken from the scene San Giorgio and the princess Di Pisanello – painter whose work he met), in front of the city, perhaps could be the hill of justice where the Acquaviva performed the capital executions. Note, in the background, represented in very small size, hidden among the heights, a shepherd with his flock. Registration says: When Christ, nacque alla Rhotta de Bethel .

After the birth of Jesus, a comet appeared in the sky and saw her the Magi, who put themselves on the way in search of the new king, following the comet: at first they arrived in Jerusalem, at the palace of King Herod, where they do not find anything they continued the journey Until the hut (or cave) of Bethlehem, where they found the little Jesus. They prostrate themselves in adoration and offered him three gifts: They , symbol of royalty; incense , symbol of divinity; The myrrh In fact, the myrrh was used to grease the body of the dead. Popular tradition wants, without foundation, that the Magi were three and also kings. They were attributed to their names and assigned to them ages: Baldassarre , the oldest; Gaspare , the youngest; Melchiorre , an adult man who then also became dark complexion. All these elements of popular tradition are found in De Lithium fresco. The cave is placed on the left, and under the canopy Mary sits with the little Jesus, while next to it is Giuseppe. In front of Jesus Baldassarre prostrates himself, who took off the crown as a sign of respect and offered his gift to Jesus, who holds him with his right hand, while with his left blesses Baldassarre. Next to Baldassarre, Melchiorre (who is not depicted black – representation that will begin to circulate starting from the sixteenth century – but simply as an adult) has already offered his gift (straight from San Giuseppe) and stands up, but is still in prayer; Behind him Gaspare, while a servant takes away his noble footwear and a page gives him the gift he will have to offer, awaits his turn. Behind the Magi you can see another page, a falconer with a dog and a hawk, and the sequel to the Magi with the nobles on horseback. In the background you can see the mountains and some episodes of the coming of the Magi in Bethlehem: in the center the Magi see the comet and kneel; Next to them, the Magi start with their follow -up towards Bethlehem; On the right, on the other hand, they leave the city of Jerusalem (which also seems to be a representation of Atri) after receiving a negative answer asking for the unborn child.
Registration reads: When Christo Fo worshiped by Magi .

Herod, who came to know by the Magi that a new king was born, for fear that he could get him dirty, but knowing nothing about the little one ordered that all the children under the age of two were killed. Joseph and Mary, with the little Jesus, were in the cave to sleep: Giuseppe appeared in a dream an angel who warned him of the imminent danger and ordered him to run away. Holy man woke up Maria and, collected their few possessions and taken Jesus, ran away into Egypt. In the fresco you can see the Virgin with the Child all visited on the top to the donkey, conducted with a rope from Giuseppe, while behind the donkey there is an attendant who brings the “luggage”; An angel indicates the road to the fugitives. You can also see a dating tree folded towards Jesus who can make the fruits thus: it is said that during the journey Jesus was hungry and so a dating plant bent to make its fruits taken that the little one ate. Among the mountains in the background you can see the Holy Family on the run led by the angel again: this time you can see two lions that are kneeling at the passage of the little Jesus. The surrounding landscape is made by mountains and hills where paths pass and where small bushes are located at the feet; In the distance you can see some small cities surrounded by walls with high towers. On the left a lake is to be seen with some boats that “flows” into a sea: presumably it is the Fucino lake dried up at the beginning of the twentieth century. On a small hill in front of the sea (the Adriatic) there is a port that must be a representation of the ancient port of Cerrano, modified in the sixteenth century and of which only the tower remains today. Interesting to note two islands in the middle of the sea. The writing reads: when lantostra donna s. fugi impegitoto .

Before arriving in Bethlehem, the Magi arrive by mistake in Jerusalem and enter the Palace of King Herod, thinking that the little one was the son of a king. Here, however, Herod says that there is no child, then makes the Holy Scriptures consult to his essays and they reply that the prophets had predicted that the King of the Jews . Herod thinks that the little one, when he grows up, could spoil him, so he makes the Magi discharge saying that if they had found the child, to refer to him where he was so that he could love him too: in reality it was a plan to kill Jesus and in fact the Magi After the visit to the Son of God they have the vision of an angel who warns them of the bad intentions of Herod, taking a different way. Herod, realizing that the Magi discovered his intentions, rages and knowing nothing about the unborn child, orders to kill all male children under the age of two in the Bethlehem area. This is how the Massacre of the innocent . De Litio’s fresco is certainly the most cruel and bloodthirsty of the whole cycle, as well as being one of the best known; In addition, it is also one of the best known works that depict this episode. The scene takes place outside the Palazzo di Herod, of which the staircase leads to the entrance (which also acts as a balcony) and the small portico decorated with Cosmateschi are visible, and where part of the scene takes place. Herod is overlooked on the balcony, which gives orders to the soldiers; Behind him there are some dignitaries who look at him with reproach and are scandalized by the destruction: two of these have hands and arms raised, to proclaim their impotence and appeal to divine justice. On the first step of the staircase there is a soldier who is the only one not to obey the orders of the king and look, scandalized, just him; Along the staircase, however, a soldier chases a mother with her baby in her arms, but she defends herself by blinding the soldier, while at the foot of the stairs a soldier with a grin grabs a child who, frightened the mother, tries to hold back; Near them, on a raised balcony and reachable through some stairs two pages play the trumpets as if to start the massacre. The left side of the fresco is very crowded: you can see soldiers with spears, other soldiers who take children and pierce them with the sword; Desperate mothers who cry their children, others who try to take revenge by scratching and leading the soldiers; A column separates the scene of the massacre from the one where Herod and his court are located. Next to the column two mothers cry their children, bloody and placed on their knees. Note how De Litio wanted to represent the soldiers just as they pierce the little ones with the sword or throw them on the ground by trampling them; Mothers instead are women of the people, who despite crying and pain evoke the sweet maternal figure. The writing says: When the subject of Herod Fe kill quilli innocent .

• Jesus among the doctors of the Temple

Jesus then fled to Egypt, where he remained up to 3 years of age: an angel in fact appeared to Joseph, telling him that Herod had died and could return to Israel; So Joseph, Mary and Jesus returned home and settled in Nazareth.
When Jesus turned 12, Mary and Joseph decided to bring him to the temple of Jerusalem during Easter. On the way back, however, Jesus was no longer with them: they returned back to Jerusalem to look for him, and finally they found him inside the temple to discuss with the “doctors” (priests) of the temple, which tradition has it that they were twelve. The child tells everyone what will happen during the stay on the ground of the Son of God and the priests, consulting the Bible, remain amazed because what Jesus says is true. The fresco, largely made by a pupil of the painter, was lost in the central part where there was the figure of Jesus. The scene takes place inside a three -nave building reminiscent of the appearance of a church; On the sides of the triumphal arch two medallions with portraits taken from the art of ancient Rome. Jesus is placed at the center of a scenic escape point and is speaking from a legging decorated with two crossed squares: only the right hand remained of Jesus. Around, sitting on wooden benches, the twelve doctors consult the Holy Scriptures according to the most varied poses, and some a little confused lock their beard or do some accounts. On the left we see a pass of passage attracted by the speech and above all the figures of Mary and Joseph: the Virgin with one hand holds the mantle while with the other indicates his son, and although he does not speak, he reproaches him with his gaze; Giuseppe, on the other hand, does not understand why there is all that confusion because of what Jesus says and appears fraded. On the ground you can see a book and some rolls. The writing says: When our woman and iosepe were looking for … in the templo .

The episode took place after the baptism of Jesus, but the painter was wrong the fresco before the baptism. In fact, immediately after the baptism, Jesus was invited together with the mother to the wedding of a rich lord of Cana: he brought the disciples with him, who at that time were six (Pietro, Andrea, Filippo, Bartolomeo, Giacomo the Maggiore and Giovanni). At the wedding of Cana Jesus gave the first miraculous sign: the wine was finished and he, prayed by Mary, called the servants and had the water filling with water and, blessing them, transformed the water into wine. In the fresco you can see the moment of the wedding banquet that takes place outside the home, under a small porch whose walls are decorated with Cosmateschi; The table is corner. On the right you can see a room with a crown that prepares the fire from which she repairs the face with her hand; Above, there is an open window with windowsill where two women are taking care of plans while a cat observes them. Two servants bring food to the table while the two spouses, with sumptuous clothes, sitting at the table, notice the lack of wine: the groom offers his glass to an old man behind him who wants a little wine, but this is it He refuses, while behind him two men look at the scene. The bride, with a rich hairstyle, is all mortified; Mary and Jesus are sitting in the place of honor: the Virgin says to Jesus (represented blond and young, without a beard) that the wine is finished and indicates the troubled bride. Jesus then blesses the amphorae (very similar to those of the Abruzzo tradition) in front of the table and performs the miracle. Behind the Madonna and his son there is a young lady, standing, who looks towards the faithful. Note, next to the amphorae, a dog that gnaws the bone. Another peculiarity is the lack of the feet of the table: surely the sinopia of the fresco had been performed by a pupil on indications of the master, but forgot to add this detail; Not even de lithium, as he painted, he noticed. Registration has been lost.

The painter places this important episode of the life of Christ, erroneously, after the wedding of Cana. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus, at about 30 years old, went to the banks of the Giordano river where his cousin, John the Baptist, baptized announcing the coming of the Messiah: despite being without sin, Jesus let his cousin compose the ritual, during which The sky opened and went down the Holy Spirit. In the fresco the baptism scene takes place on the right: in the middle the Giordano river flows, where Jesus is immersed (this time more mature, with a beard) to life; On the right bank Giovanni Battista, dressed in camel leather, pour from a bowl a little water of the Jordan on the head of Jesus where the dove of the Holy Spirit descends, while on the opposite bank two angels hold the clothes that Jesus took off to immerse yourself in the water. In front of Jesus, between two plants six ducks immerse themselves in the water, while the background is characterized by high hills furrowed by the river, where some farmhouses and small cities arise. On the left side of the fresco you can see a small open building decorated with Cosmateschi, under which Mary converses with Jesus: he, this time dressed, explains to the mother that what she will have to do is all the will of the father and show the book with the old Will; Maria collects in prayer. Note how now Maria is not as young as before, but begins to present the first signs of age. The caption has disappeared.

• Announcement of death to Maria

After the wedding of Cana, we find little the Virgin in the Gospels but it is sure that she followed Jesus throughout his ministry. We begin to find Mary with more assiduity starting from the crucifixion. The story of the announcement of his death to Maria is part of the apocryphal texts that tell the last days of earthly life of the Madonna. In fact, he wrote that Mary would pray to the son to announce them of her death two days before this happened, and so it was. In the fresco the actual scene of the announcement is on the left, and takes place inside a room decorated with Cosmateschi: the Virgin, dressed in blue and white, is now elderly, with the wrinkled face. An angel, who comes from above, offers her palm by announcing her transit. At the foot of the Madonna there is a cassone where a cat is about to eat a mouse. From the room starts a staircase leading to the upper floor, where there is a room with a woman; Above the room where the announcement of the transit takes place there is a Renaissance colonnade balcony. Under the entrance of the house (this also decorated to Cosmateschi) a relative of the Madonna gives the news of the event to a comare, in front of which a dog is walking elegantly and a pilgrim stopped to hear what happened. On the right, outside her home, the Madonna is portrayed three times: this time the dress is different (black mantle and brown dress), brings a book in hand and is depicted younger. You can see the Madonna who walks along the path in front of the house, further on the Virgin enters a building to call two women, in the background Mary accompanied by the two women heads towards a small cenobio. The landscape is mainly flat with some hills. Registration has disappeared.

• Farewell of Maria from the apostles

Always the apocryphal stories of Mary’s death say that the Virgin also gave the apostles the news of her death and takes care of them, offering the palm of the angel to the apostle John. The fresco, one of the most beautiful and known in the cycle, the scene is set inside the “remains” (which appear preserved in excellent condition) of a church, of which only the presbytery remains: for the rest there are only the columns remained And the wooden roof with the well -visible spiovants since a part of the wall is gone. Maria is located in the center: she is now depicted like a young woman; Next to die, smile and is happy, because he can rejoin the son in body and soul (hiring). The Virgin offers the palm to St. John, the apostle to which Jesus entrusted his mother: He knelt down and takes it. On the sides of the two figures are the other apostles, all with books in hand and with the gaze turned towards John and Maria: to note how on the left there are the older ones, with long beard and gray hair, while on the right ones more Young, even if nobody is as young as the evangelist Giovanni. Curious to note how the apostles are eleven: Judas Iscariot was dead, already replaced by before the Pentecost by Mattia, but here the painter made a mistake, not painting the twelfth. Outside the building, perched on a pinnacle, there is a bird. The landscape is hilly. The writing has disappeared.

Mary, surrounded by the apostles and stretched on the bed, dies and her soul rises to the sky. The apostles transport the body of the Virgin to the Giosafat valley, where it is buried. Of the fresco, which depicted the moment when the Virgin was lying in the sepulcher, unfortunately nothing remained remained: the side parts are only visible, with what remains of some figures of apostles and the remains of the landscape, flat and with a city in the background on the left. The causes that led to the almost total destruction of the fresco is due to the fact that in the sixteenth century a window was opened then walled, while in the seventeenth century the chair of the bishop was leaning against the wall: wooden work of the early seventeenth century, has little of Baroque but a lot of Renaissance. On the sides, two chairs also wooden: these are a sure work of the end of the century, given the rich and typical ornamentalism of Baroque art.

The fresco is located between the episode of the burial of the Virgin and that of its assumption: probably the client and perhaps the same de lithium wanted to put in parallel the resurrection of Jesus and the assumption of the Virgin. The theme of the fresco is sometimes mentioned as a Eucharistic Christ and, erroneously, like a Christ in pity . In the center there is the tomb, from where Jesus rises, visible until life: he, with the wounds from which he comes out copious blood, with his head slightly reclined and his eyes ajar, holds the sacred ostia with his right hand and with The left a golden glass. Below, Bishop Antonio Probi with two of his relatives, kneeling and in prayer, with his gaze facing towards the center of the lower part: unfortunately this part of the fresco has been lost, but judging by the position of some angels around and the gaze Of the bishop it could be assumed that in the center there was a representation of the most holy sacrament, reconnecting to the host and chalice held by Christ in his hand. The landscape is hilly, while the sky is divided in half: the blue “ground”, the “divine” “ground”. Note the presence of two female figures to the left of the tomb, portrayed to life and who seem to look out from an open window on the landscape: one is Maria Maddalena, the other one of the three Marie. These figures were inserted by the painter to cover an error made by a pupil and this also explains why the two women are not portrayed all entire and contained in a square. Registration has disappeared.

• Coronation of the Virgin

The Virgin is then deposited by the apostles in the sepulcher, and here the twelve see a blazing light to get up towards the sky: it is the body of the Madonna, which gathered to the soul in the sky; Here Jesus crowns her as a queen of heaven and all saints. Thus takes place the intake, remembered every year on August 15 and also celebrated in Atri with great solemnity. The artists of the Middle Ages and Renaissance have depicted either the moment of hiring, or the moment of the incorrectation. Only from the end of the sixteenth century did the iconography in which the Virgin began to spread, while rising to heaven, is crowned by the Holy Trinity. In this fresco the Virgin and Jesus are at the center, sitting on a great throne (which only vaguely recalls the late Gothic, is now of Renaissance style) decorated with Cosmatesque and supported by six dancing angels. The Virgin, a young woman dressed in white and blue, crosses her hands on her chest and slightly lowers her head is as a sign of respect towards her son, and so that these can crowns her. Christ, also dressed in white and blue, is no longer the bleeding and painful one of the resurrection, now he is happy, dressed, and with his hands he places a splendid golden crown on the head of the mother. Next to the throne four angels (two on each side), they celebrate by playing various instruments: the lute, the harp, a ribeca and a flute. Paradise is represented as a green lawn with a blue and white sky. Registration has disappeared. The fresco closes the cycle dedicated to Mary’s life.

Evangelists, doctors of the Church and virtue [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The frescoes depicting the evangelists, the doctors of the Church and the cardinal and theological virtues are found in the four wedges of the vault. They are separated from each other by rich festoons with floral, vegetable and human decorations, broken by some medallions. Each evangelist is flanked by a doctor of the church, each with his own main attributes. The evangelists also have their symbols next to them. In the corners below each wedge there are spaces where virtues are depicted. The background is an all -starred blue sky, with a round painted round with cherubs at the center of the vault and in the middle the agnus dei. The frescoes of the vault are subsequent to those of the walls of the choir: in fact, while in the life of Mary late Gothic manners were combined with the Renaissance style, in the vault every late Gothic ornament is eliminated to leave room for the Renaissance. The frescoes of the vault date back to the period between 1480 and 1481, dating that was once erroneously extended to the rest of the frescoes. Their reading starts from the fresco with the evangelist Giovanni and the bishop Agostino D’Ippona, in the central clove at the bottom, to continue in the lefthole up to the right one.

• San Giovanni Evangelista and Sant’Agostino di Ippona; Faith and hope

The fresco is present in the central wedge below. The evangelist John, the favorite of Jesus, is depicted as a young boy, whose features, however, are dry and hard: he is starting to mature. In fact, in the Gospels it is written that Giovanni was among the apostles the youngest, in fact he had to be between 15 and 20 years old and some popular stories even say that he had 12. The boss, with a fluent clear brown hair, is slightly reclined Towards the left shoulder and is surrounded by a wonderful golden halo, like all the other evangelists and doctors of the Church. Dressed with a red coat lined with white and with a green tunic, she is sitting on a bench and on a table reads a sacred book, most likely its Gospel. Next to him an eagle, a symbol of the evangelist Giovanni, with his wings explained a book with a paw. Next to Giovanni, on the right, there is Sant’Agostino bishop of Hippona, who venerated in the church of the same name very close to the Duomo, which, however, from the fourteenth century until the seventeenth century was dedicated to the saints Giacomo and Caterina. Sant’Agostino wears mitria and all the other bishopric vestments, with a very precious and rich embroidery foggia. Sant’Agostino is sitting on a rich wooden bench with a backrest with Renaissance decorations, while some books are placed on the wooden lectern (richly decorated). Sant’Agostino listens to what Giovanni says and seems to intervene as he raises his finger. Next to the Holy Bishop, depicted in the lower position there is St. Thomas Aquinas who, sitting on a simple bench, rests his elbow on the table and with his hand holds his face; It seems to be sleeping. With his left hand he holds a book. The floor is made up of tiles decorated with Cosmateschi.
At the corners at the bottom of the fresco there are the virtues of faith and hope; On the left corner there is faith, a young woman (with flowing hair tied with an elegant ribbon) praying on a glass with the sacred ostia, resting on a rich altar, while below there is a medallion with an elderly man who seems to mention a sad look. The hope is depicted in the right corner and is a girl in prayer, surrounded by a crown of flowers and with her gaze turned upwards where there is a golden light that represents divine grace, to which man tends. Below is a medallion with a man (who seems to remember the Duke of Florence Piero the Gottoso) whose face seems to express hope for the future.

• San Luca and Sant’Ambrogio; Prudence and patience

It is located in the clove to the left of the one with San Giovanni and Sant’Agostino. San Luca, the evangelist considered the painter who first portrayed the Virgin, is depicted sitting (with a red tunic and an ocher mantle) while with a thin brush he is giving the last touch to a picture depicting the Madonna and Child (a framework in the picture). Behind the stand, a small table with books and some colors. San Luca, being the patron saint of the painters (and owner of many brotherhoods of painters ), he was often a self -portrait of the painter who made the work: which many scholars hypothesized for this fresco, seeing in San Luca a self -portrait of the De Litio. At the foot of the Evangelist there is his symbol, the bull, who has Luca’s Gospel among his legs. On the right, next to San Luca, Sant’Ambrogio, Archbishop of Milan, is located, with the Vescovili vestments, sitting on a bench while writing: next to it, in the Calamaio and the case. The floor is in Cosmateschi. At the corners below the virtues of prudence and patience. At the left corner there is prudence, a woman (also with flowing hair tied by a long tape) that with her right hand holds a plate with a compass, while with the index of the left hand you touch your mouth at Indicate silence. His eyes are turned to heaven. In the medallion below the portrait in a white monochrome of a man in profile. On the right corner, however, patience: virtue of large souls, is a young woman, with hair linked by a red bow, holding the yoke on the shoulders: her boss is slightly reclined and smiles, as if to indicate the sweet weight . In the medallion below a man, portrait of profile, laughs: laughs best who laughs last The message he wants to express.

• San Marco and San Gregorio Magno; Fortress and temperance

It is located near the triumphal arch. San Marco is on the left and is depicted, bearded, with a red tunic and a green cloak: sitting on a bench, he is writing. Note the crossed legs (still present also in San Luca), an expedient that will be reused a lot in painting: the San Matteo di Caravaggio is famous, present in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, however, works refused by the client. At the foot of San Marco there is the winged lion, its symbol, which hoses the book with the Gospel according to Marco. Next to San Marco is San Gregorio the Great, Pope known for his writings. Depicted in the rich papal vestments (complete with a triregno), with a puffed face, San Gregorio is sitting on a sumptuous wooden chair with the “softened” backrest by a black cloth embroidered. An open book is laid on a lectern. The floor is in tiles with red and black crosses. The virtues of the fortress and temperance are respectively depicted in the left and right corner. The fortress is a woman with long blonde hair that breaks a column, while looking right in front of her; In the medallion below, a woman portrayed in profile brings long brown hair. Temperance is a woman (with her hair tied behind) that pour water into a glass; Below, in a medallion, a nobleman who despite the advanced age remains florid.

• San Matteo and San Girolamo; Charity and justice

San Matteo is depicted as a beautiful young man, intent on writing his gospel on a wooden table, sitting on a rich decorated wooden bench. The saint turns to look at the angel, his symbol, who holds a roll in his hand and the book of the Gospel according to Matteo Open: the angel supports the book so that Matteo can read it and then power it. Next to the evangelist, on the right, San Girolamo is located in the cardinal and intent on reading a book.
The floor is made up of rhombuses in which green and red squares are inscribed.
Charity is located on the left corner: she is a blond -haired woman, gathered behind the neck, which carries two children in her arms; below a noble portrait of profile. Justice is a solemn woman, who with the right holds a sword and with the left the balance; In the medallion below there is the face of a woman, similar to that of justice, with a golden circle in the head.

Smell [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The frescoes depicting the saints were made by Andrea De Litio between the end of those of Mary’s life and the beginning of those of the vault: therefore these frescoes can be well dated between 1460 and 1475. These frescoes cover the 2 octagonal columns and the 2 seeds of the choir; The saints of the columns are placed in fake Renaissance niches that at first glance seem true, while the seed frescoes also continue for the lateral spans of the choir.

Saints of the columns [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

• First left column : you immediately notice a coat of arms of the Dukes of Atri, the Acquaviva (then Acquaviva d’Aragona), performed in the 16th century and certainly not of the hand of the De Litio. There are then: San Lorenzo , dressed with deacon from the Dalmatics, and with a palm hand, grayworks of martyrdom and book; San Leonardo ^{[ not clear ]} , dressed as a deacon, with the Gospel and the strain in hand; San Sebastiano , a young man dressed like a rich prince, holding a roll of paper and the arrow of the martyrdom; San Silvestro Papa , with the triregno surmounted by a dove, and in the hand he holds the semi -open Gospel while the other is raised (interesting to note that it is a portrait of the bishop of the time and client of the frescoes, Antonio Probi).
• First column of the right : Saint Stephen , in the guise of deacon, with a bleeding head affected by the stones, while in the arms he bears the Gospel; San Celestino in , in papal clothes, with a cross in the left hand and with the right in the act of blessing (it is the pope who established the holy door of Atri and also that of L’Aquila); San Biagio , in the bishop’s clothes, with a round stone in hand where a tau and the Gospel are placed; San Vito , portrayed almost in profile, dressed as a rich loaf, with palm in hand and two dogs on a leash.

Saints of the half -columns and the spans [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

There are almost 50 saints, all with their attributes and often accompanied, in the lower register, by a caption with the name. The saints of the half -columns are depicted whole, while those of the spans are half -bust or three quarters.
Among the saints depicted: Santa Reparata , dressed as queen (complete with crown), with the palm of martyrdom and the model of the city of Atri in hand (note the bell tower with the cusp, particular added in the sixteenth century), and a deep gaze turned towards the faithful; Santa Maria Maddalena , completely dressed in red and with the bottle of perfumes in hand; Sant’agnese , with a cross in hand and a lamb on the feet; Santa Margherita of Antiochia , with the cross and a dragon on the feet; Santa Barbara , with the palm on the left and the model of the tower where he was locked up on the right; Sant’onofrio , completely covered with his beard and hair and hold a rosary.
Then there are some figures of saints that are difficult to identify.

Today included in the visit to the Capitular Museum, they are practically behind and annexed to the Cathedral. The cloister was built in the fifteenth century on a pre -existing structure of the twelfth century, while the Roman cistern fed the spas and dates back to the second century.

• Maria Antonella Madonna and Maria Cristina Rossi (edited by), Atri and his cathedral before the Acquaviva , Pescara, Edizioni Zip, 2015, pp. 547-586.
• Maria Sole Cardulli, The cathedral: interpretative hypothesis of the architectural aspect , in Maria Antonella Madonna and Maria Cristina Rossi (edited by), Atri and his cathedral before the Acquaviva , Pescara, Edizioni Zip, 2015, pp. 31-39.
• Marco D’Astrenasio, Il Maestro d’offids at the black. Lo Status Question , in Maria Antonella Madonna and Maria Cristina Rossi (edited by), Atri and his cathedral before the Acquaviva , Pescara, Edizioni Zip, 2015, pp. 91-101.
• Maria Antonella Madonna, From Ecclesia to Cathedralis. The testimony of the furniture , in Maria Antonella Madonna and Maria Cristina Rossi (edited by), Atri and his cathedral before the Acquaviva , Pescara, Edizioni Zip, 2015, pp. 51-61.
• Maria Cristina Rossi, Raimondo del Poggio and Rainaldo D’Atri. Tradition and innovation in the sculpture of the portals , in Maria Antonella Madonna and Maria Cristina Rossi (edited by), Atri and his cathedral before the Acquaviva , Pescara, Edizioni Zip, 2015, pp. 41-50.
• Francesco Gandolfo, Raimondo del Poggio and Rainaldo D’Atri. Tradition and innovation in the sculpture of the portals , in Maria Antonella Madonna and Maria Cristina Rossi (edited by), Atri and his cathedral before the Acquaviva , Pescara, Edizioni Zip, 2015, pp. 41-50.
• Francesco Gandolfo, The portals of the Cathedral of Atri , in Francesco Gandolfo, The sense of decorum. The stone sculpture in Angioino and Aragonese abruzzo (1274-1496) , Rome, Artemide Edizioni, 2014, pp. 33-64.
• Francesco Gandolfo, The ATRIANA SCHOOL , in Francesco Gandolfo, The sense of decorum. The stone sculpture in Angioino and Aragonese abruzzo (1274-1496) , Rome, Artemide Edizioni, 2014, pp. 41-64.
• Alessandro Tomei, From Swabians to Angevins: local variations between Roman models and art of the Alps , in Stefania Paone and Alessandro Tomei, Medieval painting in Abruzzo Aquilano , Cinisello Balsamo 2010, Silvana Editoriale, pp. 35-69.
• Simona Pannuzi, Medieval archeology interventions in Atri (Te) , in “Medieval archeology” , XviI, 1991, pp. 547-586.