The Basilica di Santa Giulia is a medieval former church in
Bonate Sotto
Bonate Sotto ( Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Bergamo in the Isola bergamasca.
Outside the town are the remains ...
,
Lombardy, northern
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 ...
. Built in the early 12th century, only its
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''. ...
area remain today in a short plain outside the town.
History
According to local tradition, it was founded b
St. Julia of Corsica or the
Lombard queen
Theodelinda
Theodelinda also spelled ''Theudelinde'' ( 570–628 AD), was a queen of the Lombards by marriage to two consecutive Lombard rulers, Autari and then Agilulf, and regent of Lombardia during the minority of her son Adaloald, and co-regent when he ...
. It is mentioned in a letter from 1129 by
Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II (9 February 1060 – 13 February 1130), born Lamberto Scannabecchi,Levillain, pg. 731 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130.
Although from a humble background, ...
as "... the church in Lesina which has not been consecrated yet". An abbey had its centre here, being abandoned together with the church around the 14th century.
Overview
The church had a basilica plan, with a nave and two aisles with three apses; the interior was divided into five
bays, of which only the last one preceding the apse area survives. The area without the ceiling is now home to a cemetery. The central apse was frescoed in 1795 by the Swiss painters Baldassarre and
Vincenzo Angelo Orelli.
Notable are the sculpted capitals, with geometrical, animal or human figures, while the residual exterior decoration includes small columns and
Lombard band
A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches.
Lombard bands are believed to h ...
s.
See also
*
First Romanesque
External links
*
Page at Bonate di Sotto website{{in lang, it
Giulia
Romanesque architecture in Lombardy
12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy