Rotonda di San Tomè

The Rotonda di San Tome is a Romanesque circular church from the second half of the 12th century. It is about a kilometer southeast of the northern Italian town Almenno San Bartolomeo in the province of Bergamo.

Architectural History

The construction of the first church at this point is perhaps to be set already for the 9th or 10th century, but by the middle of the 12th century was this - probably built of unworked rubble - building become so dilapidated that the Bishop of Bergamo a complete rebuilding of dressed stone ordered, but in which the columns and capitals of the original building were reused. It also reversed Blockkapitelle were used as bases, or integrated parts of another column for height adjustment. End of the 12th century, the rotunda was an architecturally much more mature choir bay with a subsequent apse. Nearby was a nunnery, which, however, was dissolved in the year 1407.

Architecture

Exterior

The height in the three -division rotunda is divided by slender services with small chapter sets run in the vertical; horizontal cornices missing, but below the eaves runs a round-arched frieze. The structure of the central part is divided by pilaster strips and illuminated by two cross-shaped and two round window openings; he also has a round arch frieze as top seal. The lantern above it contains four slim - each divided by a column - pairs of windows.

Choir and apse

While the window openings in the rear part of the building look like cut into the wall, the slim window openings of the apse are accompanied by an edgy and kapitelllosen jamb. The actual decoration of the apse Chorjochs and form intersecting arched frieze, above which appear cantilevered brackets and dentils ornaments to the outside. In a stone slab on the small side entrance to the choir bay, the motif of intersecting arcs, which is rather attributable to the Sicilian- Norman area and rarely appears in Northern Italy repeated.

Portal

The three -tiered, but only slightly profiled Portalgewände goes into also hardly profiled Archivolts that frame an unadorned Tympanonfeld. The spiegelbilbildlich designed Kapitellzonen are decorated with figures and stylized plants. One of the very ' primitive ' designed figures holding a sword or a dagger in her hand. Above the portal there is a narrow and inwardly tapering arches framed window.

Interior

The interior of the Rotunda is surrounded by eight mighty monolithic columns with slight but clearly visible differences in length, which are compensated by different relining. The capitals are different levels and of varying quality. About two narrow, built into the thick outer wall staircases to reach the, women's gallery ' ( matroneum ), whose eight columns usually are considerably slimmer than those on the ground floor, although here differences are apparent. Due to the slightly projecting inwards masonry creates a circular, surmounted by a dome arching unarticulated, which is exposed both of two cross-shaped like two round windows and also at the apex of a lantern tower.

Pictures

Capitals in the portal

Capital in the interior

Remains of frescoes in the apse