Santi Pietro e Paolo d’Agrò is a church in
Casalvecchio Siculo, in the
Metropolitan City of Messina
The Metropolitan City of Messina () is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Messina. It replaced the province of Messina and comprises Messina and 107 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune'').
It has 595,948 inhabitants as o ...
on
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
(Italy). It is one of the foremost examples on Sicily of
Norman architecture
The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...
.
History
The church was constructed during the 12th century as part of a
Basilian monastery.
Architecture
The church is about wide, long and high. Its exterior is characterised by its block-like form, but the facade is richly decorated. Inside, the church has the plan of a
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
with three
aisle
An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
s. Two
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
s rise from the central nave, one above its centre and one above the choir.
[
The architecture of the church displays influences from a vast variety of sources, and constitutes "a mixed architectural heritage, attributable to Sicily's heterogeneous population, Muslims, Byzantines, and Normans."][ The block-like form of the exterior is reminiscent of North European contemporary architecture while the floor plan of the church is similar to the way churches were built in the Byzantine architectural tradition. Its principle of construction at the same time is essentially that of Western European ]Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
. In its details and decorations, too, the church exhibits a wealth of influences (e.g. in the use of muqarnas
Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...
vaulting). For these reasons, the church has been called "one of the most sophisticated and coherent works of architecture to emerge from the Norman rule of the island".[
]
Gallery
File:Chiesa dei SS Pietro e Paolo d'Agrò Pianta 4.jpg, Floor plan
File:Chiesa SS Pietro e Paolo sezione trasversale.jpg, Section
File:Apse Santi Pietro Paolo d'Agrò.jpg, View of the apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
File:SS. Pietro e Paolo d'Agrò (Casalvecchio Siculo) 3.jpg, View of the plaque above the entrance
File:Chiesa SS Pietro e Paolo Interno 1.jpg, Interior
See also
* Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture
* History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
The early domes of the Middle Ages, particularly in those areas recently under Byzantine Empire, Byzantine control, were an extension of earlier Roman architecture. The domed church architecture of Italy from the sixth to the eighth centuries fol ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santi Pietro e Paolo d'Agro
Norman architecture in Italy
Churches with Norman architecture
Churches in the metropolitan city of Messina