San Benigno Canavese-Torre dell'Abbazia della Fruttuaria

One of the first streams of

Romanesque architecture 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 lat ...

in Europe from the 10th century and the beginning of 11th century is called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque. It took place in the region of

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

(at that time the term encompassing the whole of

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...

) and spread into

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

and into the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Its principal decoration for the exterior, bands of ornamental blind arches are called

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 ...

s. It was characterized by thick walls and lack of sculpture in facades, and with interiors profusely painted with frescoes. During the first quarter of the 11th century, much architectural activity by groups composed of Lombard teachers and stonemasons ( Comacine Guild), who worked throughout much of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and Catalan territories and erected fairly uniform temples, some of which still exist today.The Monastery of Santa Maria de Roses of 1022 is the oldest of the Lombard features in Catalonia. For a considerable area this process of craft diffusion started in Lombardy and ''Lombardus'' became the word for mason at an early period. One might call the First Romanesque style the style of this Italian architectural reconquest. The large promoter and sponsor of this art in Catalonia was

Oliva Oliva () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of La Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting the Mediterranean Sea, and eight kilometres to the north is Gandia. The ''Passeig'' (promenade) ...

, monk and abbot of the

monastery of Ripoll The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although much of the present church is 19th century rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a renow ...

who, in 1032, ordered the extension of the body of this building with a façade with two towers, plus a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...

which included seven

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''. ...

s, all decorated on the outside with the Lombardic ornamentation of blind arches and vertical strips. Catalan architect

Josep Puig i Cadafalch Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; Mataró, 17 October 1867 – Barcelona, 21 December 1956) was a Catalan '' Modernista'' architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development o ...

suggested that what was formerly considered the late form of pre-Romanesque architecture in

bore features of Romanesque and thus classified it as First Romanesque (''primer romànic''). The First Romanesque churches of the

Vall de Boí The Vall de Boí () is a narrow, steep-sided valley and a small municipality in the province of Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, northern Spain. It lies in the northeastern corner of the comarca of Alta Ribagorça, on the edges ...

were declared a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

in November 2000. The geographical proximity of this Iberian region to the rest of

, resulted in depictions of the emerging Romanesque art being brought to Catalonia. While the art failed to take root in the rest of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

until the second third of the 11th century, there are numerous examples of its presence in

Catalan counties The Catalan counties ( ca, Comtats Catalans, ) were the administrative Christian divisions of the eastern Carolingian '' Hispanic Marches'' and the southernmost part of the March of Gothia in the Pyrenees created after their rapid conquest by the ...

before this time. Though this style may not be considered fully Romanesque, the area contained many of the defining characteristics of this artistic style. To avoid the term Pre-Romanesque, which is often used with a much broader meaning than is generally suited to refer to early Medieval and

early Christian art Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, id ...

, and in Spain may also refer to the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

, Asturias, Mozarabic and

Repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; pt, Repovoação, ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista. In the reign of Alfons ...

art forms, Puig i Cadafalch preferred to use the term "First Romanesque" or "first Romanesque art" to designate those Catalan anticipations of the Romanesque itself.

List of First Romanesque buildings

Italy

;Lombardy * Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo in Agliate near Monza * Priorato di Sant'Egidio in Sotto il Monte *

Basilica di Santa Giulia The Basilica di Santa Giulia is a medieval former church in Bonate Sotto, Lombardy, northern Italy. Built in the early 12th century, only its apse area remain today in a short plain outside the town. History According to local tradition, it was ...

in Bonate Sotto * Piona Abbey near Lecco * Santa Maria Maggiore, Lomello * Sant'Ambrogio in Milan c. 1048 * San Michele Maggiore, Pavia *

Rotonda di San Tomè Rotonda can refer to: * Rotonda, Florida * Rotonda, Basilicata * Villa Capra "La Rotonda", a building in Vicenza, Italy * Rotunda (alternative spelling) * The Rotonda Condominium in McLean, Virginia * A term used by some Spanish-speaking or Spa ...

Almenno San Bartolomeo Almenno San Bartolomeo (Bergamasque: or simply ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. Almenno San Bartolomeo borders the f ...

Basilica of Sant'Abbondio The Basilica of Sant'Abbondio is a Romanesque-style 11th-century Catholic basilica church located in Como, region of Lombardy, Italy. Description The current edifice rises over a pre-existing 5th century Palaeo-Christian church entitled to S ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps ...

Basilica di San Vincenzo The Basilica di San Vincenzo is a church in Galliano, a ''frazione'' of Cantù, in Lombardy, northern Italy. An example of local Romanesque architecture, it was founded in 1007. The complex includes also a baptistry, dedicated to St. John the Bapt ...

Cantù Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and '' comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza. History The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population ...

* Rotonda di San Lorenzo in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

* San Vincenzo in Prato in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

;Emilia-Romagna * Modena Cathedral * Nonantola Abbey * Fidenza Cathedral *

Piacenza Cathedral Piacenza Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Piacenza), fully the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta e Santa Giustina, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Piacenza, Italy. The current structure was built between 1122 and 1233 and is one of the most valuable exam ...

Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna ( Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parm ...

Spain

;Catalonia *

Sant Pere de Roda Sant Pere de Rodes () is a former Benedictine monastery in the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the North East of Catalonia, Spain. Location Located in the municipal area of El Port de la Selva in the province of Girona, Spain, it was built on the sl ...

, founded 943, started construction c. 950 *

Ripoll Monastery The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although much of the present church is 19th century rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a renow ...

. Finished and consecrated in 977 *

Church of Sant Vicenç The Church of Sant Vicenç of Cardona ( ca, Església de Sant Vicenç de Cardona) is a Lombard Romanesque church in Cardona, Catalonia, Spain. It was built between the years 1019 and 1040, and is located in the center of the Castle of Cardona. ...

in Cardona, started in 1029 and consecrated in 1040 *Sant Cristòfol of Beget *Sant Pere of

Besalú Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...

*Sant Vicenç of Besalú * Monastery of Sant Miquel, Cruïlles *Sant Vicenç of Espinelves *Part of

Girona Cathedral Girona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona (in Catalan: ''Catedral de Santa Maria de Girona'' or simply ''Catedral de Girona''), is a Roman Catholic church located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the ...

*Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligans in

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

*Sant Nicolau in Girona *Saint Cecil of Molló *Church of Sant Joan in Palau-saverdera * Monastery of Sant Quirze de Colera in Rabós d'Empordá *Monastery of Sant Aniol d'Aguja *Monastery of Santa Maria of Vilabertran *Churches of Saint Mary and Saint Clement of Taüll, Sant Feliu, Sant Joan de Boí, Santa Maria de l'Assumpció, Santa Maria de Cardet, la Nativitat de Durro, Ermita de Sant Quiric and Santa Eulàlia, in

, *Churches of Santa Maria, Sant Pere and Sant Miquel in

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, '' comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ...

*Church of Saints Just and Pastor, in Son ( Pallars Sobirà) ;Huesca *Church of

San Caprasio San Caprasio is a church in Santa Cruz de la Serós, Jacetania, Spain, in First Romanesque style. History The church is dedicated to St. Caprasius, a 4th-century Gaulish-Roman saint connected to the pilgrims who, during the Middle Ages, ran th ...

Santa Cruz de la Serós Santa Cruz de la Serós (in Aragonese: Santa Cruz d'as Serors) is a village in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. Located 88 kilometers from the city of Huesca, it is located at a hill side on the way to the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña ...

( Huesca) *Monastery of San Pedro de Siresa (Huesca) *Church of San Adrián de Sasave (Huesca) *Church of Baros (Huesca) *Church of Asieso (Huesca) *Church of Binacua (Huesca) *Churches of the Serrablo (Huesca), it is debatable whether they are First Romanesque or

Mozarab The Mozarabs ( es, mozárabes ; pt, moçárabes ; ca, mossàrabs ; from ar, مستعرب, musta‘rab, lit=Arabized) is a modern historical term for the Iberian Christians, including Christianized Iberian Jews, who lived under Muslim rule in A ...

: Ordovés, Rasal,

Lasieso Lasieso is a village under the local government of the municipality of Sabiñánigo, Alto Gállego, Huesca, Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval ...

, Arto, Isún, Satué, Lárrade, San Juan de Busa, Oliván, Orós Bajo, Susín, Basarán (now in Formigal), Otal, S. Juan de Espierre and San Bartolomé de Gavín ;Valladolid *Nuestra Señora de la Anunciada Hermitage, in

Urueña Urueña is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 213 inhabitants. The streets and stone houses have been restored to those of a med ...

France

* Church of Saint-Étienne, Vignory 1050–1057 *

St Philibert at Tournus The Church of St Philibert, Tournus, is a medieval church, the main surviving building of a former Benedictine abbey, the Abbey of St Philibert, in Tournus, Saône-et-Loire, France. It is of national importance as an example of Romanesque archi ...

Saint-Martin-du-Canigou The abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou ( Catalan: ''Sant Martí del Canigó'') is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia on Canigou mountain in present-day southern near the Spanish border. Pau Casals wrote a composit ...

, begun 1001

References

Sources

* Armi, Edson. ''Orders and Continuous Orders in Romanesque Architecture.'', Department of Art, University of Chicago. Oct 1975. pp. 173–188. * Kostof, Spiro. ''A History of Architecture.'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. *Chueca Goitia, Fernando ''Historia de la Arquitectura Española, Edad Antigua y Media'' Editorial DOSSAT, 1965. Chapter: ''El primer arte románico''. pp. 148–156. *Chueca Goitia, Fernando ''Historia de la Arquitectura occidental: Edad Media cristiana en España'' Ed. DOSSAT, 2000. *Yarza, Joaquín ''Arte y arquitectura en España, 500-1250'' Manuales arte Cátedra, 1997. {{ISBN, 84-376-0200-9

External links

St-Etienne, Vignory (France) – Photo Page from Adrian Fletcher’s ParadoxplaceCírculo Románico - Visigothic, Mozarabic and Romanesque art in Europe
· Lombard architecture Medieval architecture . . . . Architectural styles