The Oratorio di Santa Maria, or Oratory of Santa Maria, previously called the Tempietto longobardo, is located in Valle on the north-eastern frontier at

Cividale del Friuli Cividale del Friuli ( fur, Cividât (locally ); german: Östrich; sl, Čedad) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Udine, part of the North-Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia ''regione''. The town lies above sea-level in the foothills of the e ...

in the

province of Udine The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...

. It was erected in the 8th century under the rule of a Germanic people called the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. This is the most important and best preserved example of

Lombard architecture Lombard architecture refers to the architecture of the Kingdom of the Lombards, which lasted from 568 to 774 (with residual permanence in southern Italy until the 10th–11th centuries) and which was commissioned by Lombard kings and dukes. The ar ...

, which resembles styles found in

Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxons, Saxon dynasty of List of German monarchs, German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I, Holy Roman Empe ...

Roman 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 letter ...

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 ...

and

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

art. Included within the temple and chapel are decorated frescoes and high relief sculptures of saints in stucco.

History

The small structure was likely begun as a part of the Gastaldaga area and Episcopal complex at

next to the Natisone river. It stands as one of the few architectural examples of a positive relationship between Europe and Arab-Muslim countries, which is apparent by the techniques utilized and the stucco decorations, probably initiated by

Aistulf Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...

, Duke of Friuli and King of the Lombards, and used as a Palatine Chapel for Lombard Dukes and the king's functionaries. Although started much earlier, many of the decorations, statues and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

s might have been constructed as late as the 11th and 12th centuries and includes

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 ...

motifs. It is a part of the seven architectural, pictorial and sculptural sites within the Longobards in Italy: Places of Power (568–774 A.D.) and received a UNESCO Cultural heritage designation.

Interior

The exterior is rather plain, but the interior is a complex 3 to 5 ratio composed of a square-plan, single chamber, with a spacious cross-vault, divided by pairs of columns in three parts covered in barrel vaults, which closes with a lower presbytery. The changes in power create a very significant collision between artists styles and genres; the space is dense with rich decoration that was important for both secular and contemporary ecclesiastical interiors and is made with sophisticated materials. The view of the entrance wall is covered with stuccos and

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 ...

wall-paintings that depict the Blessing of Christ amongst the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and other male saints. The walls are filled in with various floral stucco decorations done in high-relief. There are bi-colored floors, marble wall

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water ...

s, mosaics and sculptures done in stone. The most curious aspect however is the

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

which includes six remaining important stucco figures of unidentified women that were potentially saints or royal patrons. The figures are stylized, richly decorated with dramatic folds in their garments and slightly elongated which is reminiscent of Byzantine models.

References

{{coord missing, Italy Buildings and structures in Udine