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
Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy ...
,
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
, northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Built in the early 12th century, only its
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 ' ...
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 ...
. 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
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
s, 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 ...
s.
See also
*
First Romanesque
One of the first streams of Romanesque architecture 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 (at that time the term encompassing ...
External links
*
Page at Bonate di Sotto website{{in lang, it
Giulia
Romanesque architecture in Lombardy
12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy