San Lanfranco is a Romanesque-style

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church and former abbey, located on via San Lanfranco Vescovo, 4/6, just west of the town center of

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

, region of Lombardy,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

A paleochristian church at the site, dedicated to the ''Holy Sepulcher'' (Santo Sepolcro) was located near here, and the first documentation of a monastery here date to 1090. The monastery became associated with the

Vallumbrosan Order The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of Vallombrosa Abbey, their motherhouse fou ...

, and hosted the bishop Lanfranco Beccaria, till his death in 1198.

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

elevated Lanfranco to sainthood the next year. This church, which held his relics, was rebuilt starting about this time, and leading to consecration in 1236, with the bell-tower dating to 1237, and the facade to 1257. The small cloister was designed in 1476 by the architect

Giovanni Antonio Amadeo 260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral 260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo. Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer. Biography Amadeo was born in ...

. Amadeo also designed and sculpted the elements of the ''Arca di San Lanfranco'' which serves as funereal monument and tomb to the saint. Located outside the walls of Pavia, the abbey was frequently requisitioned by armies besieging the town. Over the years a number of events, including floods and fires, damaged the church and abbey. During the Siege of Pavia in 1524, which ended in the

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

of 1525, the King of France

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

established his headquarters in the monastery. Soon after 1782, the monastery was suppressed and the church was transformed into a parish.

Architecture

The facade is tripartite and narrow on the sides by two voluminous buttresses. In the middle there are circular openings, in the center the portal riquadrato stone. The front is surmounted by a blind loggia, typical of Romanesque Pavia. The upper part is decorated with ceramic plates (examples of Pavese archaic majolica). The bell tower dates back to 1237 the structure is slender. On each side there are five mirrors with a row of six simple arches. On the top the bell cell framed by a three-hour window. Under the band of arches the white plaster contrasts with the red of the terracotta. There are also majolica plates, also present on the facade, as evidence of relations with the Near East. The interior of the church is a Latin cross. The nave is punctuated by thin pillars and covered by cross vaults. The dome is octagonal. The presbytery, with a small polygonal apse, dates back to the interventions of the late 15th century. Pavia - chiesa di San Lanfranco - interno.jpg, Interior. San Lanfranco (Pavia) 05.jpg,

, Ark of San Lanfranco (1489). Pavia, San Lanfranco affreschi.jpg, Assassination of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

. Fresco, first half of the 13th century. San lanfranco pavia.jpg, Small cloister (1467). San Lanfranco (Pavia) 06.jpg, Great cloister (circa 1480). San Lanfranco (Pavia) 10.jpg, Madonna Enthroned, second half of 14th-century. The wooden choir in carved walnut, made between the second half of the fifteenth century and the very first years of the next, bears the coat of arms and the name "Luca" (name of the abbot Luca Zanachi). The choir, located along the side walls of the presbytery, consists of two bodies of nine stalls each, separated by perforated barriers, with cockpit seats and smooth back panels on the top framed by a lobed motif. While the exterior of the church is mainly plain brick, the interior still contains frescoes from the 13th to 15th centuries. Among the most notable, is a fresco depicting the murder of St Thomas Becket, whose life had parallels with San Lanfranco. The remains of the small cloister include Romanesque carvings on the columns. The larger cloister has 15th century Renaissance style decorations in the capitals. The tomb of the Saint (Arca de San Lanfranco) was completed from 1498-1508 with designs by Amedeo, and is notable for the carved bas-reliefs by Amedeo and his followers depicting the life of the Saint.Lombardia Beni Culturali
entry on church.

References

Biography

* Giovanna Forzatti Golia, ''Istituzioni ecclesiastiche pavesi dall'età longobarda alla dominazione visconteo- sforzesca'', Roma, Herder, 2002. * L. Giordano, M. Visioli, R. Gorini, L. Baini, P. L. Mulas, C. Fraccaro, ''L'architettura del Quattrocento e del Cinquecento'', in ''Storia di Pavia'', III/3, ''L’arte dall'XI al XVI secolo'', Milano, Banca Regionale Europea, 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanfranco Pavia Roman Catholic churches in Pavia Romanesque architecture in Pavia 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy