Chiesa di Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

for ''Church of Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta'') is a Romanesque

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in Rosciolo dei Marsi (a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of the comune of

Magliano de' Marsi Magliano de' Marsi is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern-central Italy. The town is in the historical region Marsica. Main sights *Church of Santa Lucia, in late Gothic- Romanesque style, with Baro ...

), in western

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, central

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

The church of Santa Maria in Porclaneta Valley is mentioned for the first time in an 11th century document, when the monastery passed under the jurisdiction of the

Montecassino Abbey Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

. It is located on the slopes of

Monte Velino Monte Velino is a mountain (2,487 m) in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy, part of the Abruzzo Apennines. Located nearby the boundary with Lazio, between the Fucino plain and the Aterno, Salto and Velino rivers' valleys, ...

, at 1022 meters above the sea level. left, View of the pulpit. The plan of the church, which is in

Romanesque style 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 later ...

, consists of a central nave ending in an

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 ...

; this is separated by two smaller naves by arcades. Before the entrance is a

pronaos A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

, which used to lead to the monks' rooms, now partially collapsed. Inside the church is preserved a

ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...

and a ciborium dated 1150, both attributed to the master Nicodemus; furthermore, there are the remains of the iconostasis that used to separate the presbytery from the hall reserved to the congregation, painted with frescoes. The ambon is in stone covered by stucco, with a squared pulpit built over trilobed arches, in turn supported by small octagonal columns. The

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

are decorated with human figures mixed with vegetable representations. The sides of the upper pulpit are in turn sculpted with diacons and scenes from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, including

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

fighting the bear and

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...

devoured by the whale. The decoration is similar to that in the church of Santa Maria del Lago at

Moscufo Moscufo (locally ''Muscùfe'') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Main sights *Parish church of San Cristoforo *Palazzo Orsini *Abbey church of Santa Maria del Lago (12th century), an example of Ro ...

, also in Abruzzo.

References

External links

* Maria Assunta Maria Assunta Magliano de' Marsi {{Italy-church-stub