NIGEL'S RAMBLES

I managed to take a day off to explore the Romanesque architecture of Pavia. I also managed to fit in the Certosa, which is a few miles out of town.

First stop was the Basilica di San Teodoro, one of the greatest and most intact masterpieces of Romanesque architecture of Pavia. Located in the heart of the ancient medieval district of fishermen and boatmen, a few steps from the Ticino river. Originally built in the Lombard era (eighth century) with the name of Sant'Agnese, it was rebuilt in its current form in Lombard brick towards the end of the twelfth century to house the remains of San Teodoro, historic bishop and protector of the city.

It is rather dark and foreboding inside, and I had to use the torch on my phone down in the crypt.

Basilica di San Teodoro, Pavia

Basilica di San Teodoro, Pavia

Basilica di San Teodoro, Pavia

Basilica di San Teodoro, Pavia

Basilica di San Teodoro, Pavia

Basilica di San Teodoro, Pavia

I trudged my way across the city to the most spectacular location on my Romanesque tour. The Basilica di San Michele Maggiore is one of the most important masterpieces of Lombard-Romanesque architecture in Italy. This majestic sandstone church dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries. It holds immense historical value as a site where several medieval Kings of Italy were crowned.

The exterior is built from distinctive ochre sandstone, characterized by a soaring gabled profile, loggias, and narrow mullioned windows. The façade is heavily decorated with complex, evocative bas-reliefs showing a mix of biblical narratives, and zoomorphic representations. The fragile sandstone exterior has suffered significant weathering over centuries , caused by rain and pollution.

Unlike the exterior sandstone, the interior features dark red brickwork mixed with stone elements, with a standard Lombard-Romanesque.

The Crucifix of Theodote: Housed in the north transept, is a masterpiece of medieval metalwork and dates back to the 10th century. Crafted by silver smiths for the monastery of Santa Maria Teodote, it portrays an early Romanesque depiction of Christ. I was impressed with the splendid column capitals showing various dramatic Biblical scenes.

Descending down the stone steps beneath the raised altar leads into the, column-filled crypt. Divided into three tiny aisles by a forest of twelve small marble columns, the capitals are individually carved with intricate vegetal motifs.

I actually came back later in the day to catch the façade illumined by direct sunlight, to catch the rich colour of the stonework. Although maybe I like the stormy morning shot more.

The Basilica di San Michele Maggiore, Pavia

The Basilica di San Michele Maggiore

My last location was the The Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro. Situated just out of the town centre. This masterpiece of Romanesque architecture. It is not only a place of worship, but a real meeting place of European history and culture.

Founded in the Lombard era, the basilica owes its fascinating name ("Golden Sky") to the ancient ceiling that once shone with golden decorations. Its international fame is linked above all to containing the tombs of Saint Augustine of Hippo and the Lombard king Liutprand. The basilica we see today was completely reconstructed during the 11th and 12th centuries, and officially consecrated by Pope Innocent II in 1132.

San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro represents one of the purest and most rigorous examples of Lombard Romanesque. The façade has the typical asymmetrical "gabled" profile, made entirely of red brick and gray sandstone. A large window positioned above the central portal, floods the main axis of the nave with light. The roofline is embellished with a dense series of hanging arches, a true trademark of the time.

Inside, the space is marked by three naves. The central nave, twice as wide as the side aisles, is supported by imposing round pillars that alternate rhythmically in supporting the heavy cross vaults. The architecture is designed to guide the visitor's eye towards a very specific focal point: the raised presbytery, scenographically conceived as a stage for the basilica's most precious treasures.

Positioned in the center of the presbytery, the The Ark of St. Augustine is the undisputed masterpiece of the basilica. It is a monumental funeral monument in white Carrara marble, built in the fourteenth century by the masters of Campione. The work has 95 statues and 50 bas-reliefs that narrates Augustine's life, from conversion to baptism at the hands of St. Ambrose. In the heart of this marble casket, protected by a silver box commissioned by King Liutprand, rests the relic of the Saint.

Going down the steps under the main altar we enter the crypt, a suggestive underground forest supported by 24 columns with geometric capitals. In this place shrouded in half-light lie the remains of Severinus Boethius, a Roman philosopher and senator sentenced to death in Pavia in 525 AD.

This was the busiest location that I visited, in the morning the other two churches were deserted. It took quite a bit of patience to get shots without distractions.

San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Pavia

NIGEL'S RAMBLES

Monday, October 26, 2026

Romanesque Pavia

Copyright 2023Nigel Voak