San Benigno Canavese-Torre dell'Abbazia della Fruttuaria

One of the first streams of

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

in Europe from the 10th century and the beginning of 11th century is called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque. It took place in the region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

(at that time the term encompassing the whole of

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

) and spread into

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

and into the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Its principal decoration for the exterior, bands of ornamental blind arches are called

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to h ...

s. It was characterized by thick walls and lack of sculpture in facades, and with interiors profusely painted with frescoes. During the first quarter of the 11th century, much architectural activity by groups composed of Lombard teachers and stonemasons ( Comacine Guild), who worked throughout much of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and Catalan territories and erected fairly uniform temples, some of which still exist today.The Monastery of Santa Maria de Roses of 1022 is the oldest of the Lombard features in Catalonia. For a considerable area this process of craft diffusion started in Lombardy and ''Lombardus'' became the word for mason at an early period. One might call the First Romanesque style the style of this Italian architectural reconquest. The large promoter and sponsor of this art in Catalonia was

Oliva Oliva () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of La Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting the Mediterranean Sea, and eight kilometres to the north is Gandia. The ''Passeig'' (promenade) run ...

, monk and abbot of the

monastery of Ripoll The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although much of the present church is 19th century rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a renown ...

who, in 1032, ordered the extension of the body of this building with a façade with two towers, plus a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

which included seven

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s, all decorated on the outside with the Lombardic ornamentation of

blind arch A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building that has been infilled with solid construction and so cannot serve as a passageway, door or window.''A Dictionary of Architecture''; Fleming, John; Honour, Hugh & Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966) T ...

es and vertical strips. Catalan architect

Josep Puig i Cadafalch Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; Mataró, 17 October 1867 – Barcelona, 21 December 1956) was a Catalan '' Modernista'' architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of ...

suggested that what was formerly considered the late form of

pre-Romanesque Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...

architecture in

bore features of Romanesque and thus classified it as First Romanesque (''primer romànic''). The First Romanesque churches of the

Vall de Boí The Vall de Boí () is a narrow, steep-sided valley and a small municipality in the province of Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, northern Spain. It lies in the northeastern corner of the comarca of Alta Ribagorça, on the edges ...

were declared a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in November 2000. The geographical proximity of this Iberian region to the rest of

, resulted in depictions of the emerging

Romanesque art Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...

being brought to Catalonia. While the art failed to take root in the rest of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

until the second third of the 11th century, there are numerous examples of its presence in

Catalan counties The Catalan counties ( ca, Comtats Catalans, ) were the administrative Christian divisions of the eastern Carolingian ''Hispanic Marches'' and the southernmost part of the Septimania, March of Gothia in the Pyrenees created after their rapid conqu ...

before this time. Though this style may not be considered fully Romanesque, the area contained many of the defining characteristics of this artistic style. To avoid the term Pre-Romanesque, which is often used with a much broader meaning than is generally suited to refer to early Medieval and

early Christian art Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, id ...

, and in Spain may also refer to the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

Mozarabic Mozarabic, also called Andalusi Romance, refers to the medieval Romance varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula in territories controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Córdoba and its successors. They were the common tongue for the majority of ...

and

Repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; pt, Repovoação, ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista. In the reign of Alfonso ...

art forms, Puig i Cadafalch preferred to use the term "First Romanesque" or "first Romanesque art" to designate those Catalan anticipations of the Romanesque itself.

List of First Romanesque buildings

Italy

;Lombardy * Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo in Agliate near

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Priorato di Sant'Egidio Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO M ...

Sotto il Monte Sotto il Monte ( lmo, label=Bergamasque, Sóta 'l Mut; "Under the Mountain"), officially Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, is a ''comune'' in northern Italy. Located in the Province of Bergamo in the Region of Lombardy, the town's official name, mu ...

Basilica di Santa Giulia The Basilica di Santa Giulia is a medieval former church in Bonate Sotto, Lombardy, northern Italy. Built in the early 12th century, only its apse area remain today in a short plain outside the town. History According to local tradition, it was ...

Bonate Sotto Bonate Sotto ( Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Bergamo in the Isola bergamasca. Outside the town are the remains ...

Piona Abbey The Piona Priory or Piona Abbey,Observe Piona in Leonardo's Last Supper at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. is a religious complex on the Lecco bank of Lake Como in the territory of the municipality of Colico, northern Ita ...

near

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label=Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

Santa Maria Maggiore, Lomello Santa Maria Maggiore is a church in Lomello, province of Pavia, Lombardy, Italy, an example of First Romanesque art. It includes the oldest cross vaults in Italy. The oldest document mentioning the basilica is a privilege by pope Paschal II, d ...

* Sant'Ambrogio in Milan c. 1048 *

San Michele Maggiore, Pavia The Basilica of San Michele Maggiore is a Roman Catholic church in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. The building, dating to the 11-12th centuries, is a well-preserved example of the Lombard- Romanesque style. History Archeological evidence, s ...

Rotonda di San Tomè Rotonda can refer to: * Rotonda, Florida * Rotonda, Basilicata * Villa Capra "La Rotonda" Villa La Rotonda is a Renaissance villa just outside Vicenza in northern Italy designed by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The villa's cor ...

Almenno San Bartolomeo Almenno San Bartolomeo ( Bergamasque: or simply ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. Almenno San Bartolomeo borders the f ...

Basilica of Sant'Abbondio The Basilica of Sant'Abbondio is a Romanesque-style 11th-century Catholic basilica church located in Como, region of Lombardy, Italy. Description The current edifice rises over a pre-existing 5th century Palaeo-Christian church entitled to St ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

Basilica di San Vincenzo The Basilica di San Vincenzo is a church in Galliano, a ''frazione'' of Cantù, in Lombardy, northern Italy. An example of local Romanesque architecture, it was founded in 1007. The complex includes also a baptistry, dedicated to St. John the Bap ...

Cantù Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza. History The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population of I ...

Rotonda di San Lorenzo The Rotonda di San Lorenzo is a religious building in Mantua, Lombardy (northern Italy). It is the most ancient church in the city. It is now sunk below the level of the Piazza della Erbe. It probably stands on the site of a Roman temple that wa ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

San Vincenzo in Prato The basilica of San Vincenzo in Prato is a Roman Catholic church located in Via Daniele Crespi 6, in Milan, region of Lombardy, Italy. The church maintains most of its original Palaeo-Christian appearance. History The first church was founded b ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

;Emilia-Romagna *

Modena Cathedral Modena Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta e San Geminiano but colloquially known as simply ''Duomo di Modena'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Modena, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint G ...

Nonantola Abbey Nonantola Abbey, dedicated to Saint Sylvester, is a former a Benedictine monastery and ''prelature nullius'' in the commune of Nonantola, c. 10 km north-east of Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The abbey church remains as a basil ...

Fidenza Cathedral Fidenza Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Fidenza; Cattedrale di San Donnino) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the center of the town of Fidenza, province of Parma, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Fidenza, kno ...

Piacenza Cathedral Piacenza Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Piacenza), fully the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta e Santa Giustina, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Piacenza, Italy. The current structure was built between 1122 and 1233 and is one of the most valuable examp ...

Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. I ...

Spain

;Catalonia * Sant Pere de Roda, founded 943, started construction c. 950 * Ripoll Monastery. Finished and consecrated in 977 *

Church of Sant Vicenç The Church of Sant Vicenç of Cardona ( ca, Església de Sant Vicenç de Cardona) is a First Romanesque, Lombard Romanesque architecture, Romanesque church in Cardona, Spain, Cardona, Catalonia, Spain. It was built between the years 1019 and 1040, ...

in Cardona, started in 1029 and consecrated in 1040 *Sant Cristòfol of Beget *Sant Pere of

Besalú Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...

*Sant Vicenç of Besalú * Monastery of Sant Miquel, Cruïlles *Sant Vicenç of

Espinelves Espinelves is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Guilleries in the east of the ''comarca''. Forestry is the main economic activity of the municipality, particularly the cultivation of the local s ...

*Part of

Girona Cathedral Girona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona (in Catalan: ''Catedral de Santa Maria de Girona'' or simply ''Catedral de Girona''), is a Roman Catholic church located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the R ...

*Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligans in

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

*Sant Nicolau in Girona *Saint Cecil of Molló *Church of Sant Joan in Palau-saverdera * Monastery of Sant Quirze de Colera in Rabós d'Empordá *Monastery of Sant Aniol d'Aguja *Monastery of Santa Maria of

Vilabertran Vilabertran is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, Girona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its ...

*Churches of

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and Saint Clement of Taüll, Sant Feliu, Sant Joan de Boí, Santa Maria de l'Assumpció, Santa Maria de Cardet, la Nativitat de Durro, Ermita de Sant Quiric and Santa Eulàlia, in

, *Churches of Santa Maria, Sant Pere and Sant Miquel in

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ' ...

*Church of Saints Just and Pastor, in Son (

Pallars Sobirà Pallars Sobirà () is a comarca (comparable to a county or shire in much of the English-speaking world) in the mountainous northwest of Catalonia, Spain. The name means "Upper Pallars", distinguishing it from the more populous (and less mountaino ...

) ;Huesca *Church of San Caprasio in

Santa Cruz de la Serós Santa Cruz de la Serós (in Aragonese: Santa Cruz d'as Serors) is a village in the province of Huesca Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Po ...

(

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

) *Monastery of San Pedro de Siresa (Huesca) *Church of San Adrián de Sasave (Huesca) *Church of Baros (Huesca) *Church of Asieso (Huesca) *Church of Binacua (Huesca) *Churches of the Serrablo (Huesca), it is debatable whether they are First Romanesque or

Mozarab The Mozarabs ( es, mozárabes ; pt, moçárabes ; ca, mossàrabs ; from ar, مستعرب, musta‘rab, lit=Arabized) is a modern historical term for the Iberian Christians, including Christianized Iberian Jews, who lived under Muslim rule in A ...

: Ordovés, Rasal,

Lasieso Lasieso is a village under the local government of the municipality of Sabiñánigo, Alto Gállego, Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanis ...

, Arto, Isún, Satué, Lárrade, San Juan de Busa, Oliván,

Orós Bajo Orós Bajo ( Aragonese: Orós Baxo) is a population unit situated in the municipality of Biescas, Spain. In 2019, it had a population of 22 inhabitants. Monuments The church of Saint Eulalia forms part of the Serrablo churches, a group of ear ...

, Susín, Basarán (now in Formigal), Otal, S. Juan de Espierre and San Bartolomé de Gavín ;Valladolid *Nuestra Señora de la Anunciada Hermitage, in

Urueña Urueña is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 213 inhabitants. The streets and stone houses have been restored to those of a m ...

France

* Church of Saint-Étienne, Vignory 1050–1057 * St Philibert at Tournus *

Saint-Martin-du-Canigou The abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou (Catalan: ''Sant Martí del Canigó'') is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia on Canigou mountain in present-day southern near the Spanish border. Pau Casals wrote a composition ...

, begun 1001

References

Sources

* Armi, Edson. ''Orders and Continuous Orders in Romanesque Architecture.'', Department of Art, University of Chicago. Oct 1975. pp. 173–188. * Kostof, Spiro. ''A History of Architecture.'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. *Chueca Goitia, Fernando ''Historia de la Arquitectura Española, Edad Antigua y Media'' Editorial DOSSAT, 1965. Chapter: ''El primer arte románico''. pp. 148–156. *Chueca Goitia, Fernando ''Historia de la Arquitectura occidental: Edad Media cristiana en España'' Ed. DOSSAT, 2000. *Yarza, Joaquín ''Arte y arquitectura en España, 500-1250'' Manuales arte Cátedra, 1997. {{ISBN, 84-376-0200-9

External links

St-Etienne, Vignory (France) – Photo Page from Adrian Fletcher’s ParadoxplaceCírculo Románico - Visigothic, Mozarabic and Romanesque art in Europe
· Lombard architecture Medieval architecture . . . . Architectural styles