San Leonardo is a Romanesque-style

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in the town of

Borgomanero Borgomanero ( pms, Borbané; lmo, Borbanee) is a (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin, about northwest of Novara and about 60 km northwest of Milan. Borgomanero borders ...

province of Novara Novara (It. ''Provincia di Novara'') is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara. In 1992, the new Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola was created through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previou ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy.

History

A church at the site was built between 1125 and 1150 under the patronage of the

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

Pombia Pombia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Novara. The commune is known for its Safari Park, established in 1976. History It has Roman origi ...

. That church served as the first parish church and housed an adjacent

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

for

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s. The stone church underwent various refurbishments, and the interior was restored in the 1980s, restoring the interior closer to the original Romanesque appearance and removing additions over the centuries. It is open on Saturdays to visitors. The

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 ...

was

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

ed in the 13th century by an unknown painter from the workshop of the Master of Angera. Traces remain of frescoes depicting

Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator ( grc-gre, Χριστὸς Παντοκράτωρ) is a specific depiction of Christ. ''Pantocrator'' or ''Pantokrator'', literally ''ruler of all'', but usually translated as "Almighty" or "all-po ...

with the symbols of the Evangelists, the twelve Apostles, the months of the year, a series of saints; and a ''Last Supper with Judas' Betrayal''. Another fresco depicts the ''Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew'' in the second bay on the left. In the fifteenth century, further frescoes were added by the Master of Borgomanero, depicting a ''Madonna and Child'', a ''Trinity'', a ''Madonna del Latte'', and a ''Madonna with Saints Peter and Paul'', and a ''Nativity''. Finally, the church also has a 16th-century fresco, also by an anonymous painter, depicting the ''Madonna of the Sette Dolori''.

Architecture

The oratory, which is the only remaining building of the primitive village of San Leonardo, is a prime example of the architectural style called "Romanesque" which prevailed in northern Italy in the period from the end of the first millennium until the XIII century, that is, after the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

style and before the advent of the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

: a sober, essential and massive style."Novara e la sua terra nei secoli XI e XII-storia, documenti, architettura", catalogue of the homonymous exhibition held between 15 May-15 June 1980 in Novara, Silvana Editoriale The plan of the church is simple but the coverage of the nave with a cross

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

shows the importance of San Leonardo in a village that was acquiring greater political and economic importance in the period in which the church was built. The church had also a strategic position at the crossroads between "Via Francisca" (the road that from Novara leads to the Sempione pass and France) and the one that from Turin and Vercelli leads to Lake Maggiore and from there to Switzerland and Germany."Un Borgofranco novarese dalle origini al Medioevo", catalogue of the homonymous exhibition held between 15 October-24 November 1994 in Borgomanero, Litopress The oratory has a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of about 12x7m, divided into three rectangular bays and covered by a cross vault whose

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

s are still preserved inside and the

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es outside. It has a semicircular apse to the east, with two doubled-splayed windows. The façade is gabled, in square blocks of stone, with a door surmounted by a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

and a small cross-shaped window. The roof was of stone, of which a trace still exists in the apse area. The side walls are made of small pebbles arranged irregularly and only in small fish-spike sections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardo Borgomanero 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in Borgomanero Churches completed in 1150 Romanesque architecture in Piedmont