One of the first streams of

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

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 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 ...

(at that time the term encompassing the whole of Northern Italy) and spread into

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and into the south of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Its principal decoration for the exterior, bands of ornamental blind arches are called Lombard bands. It was characterized by thick walls and lack of sculpture in facades, and with interiors profusely painted with frescoes.

Historical and geographical background

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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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, monk and abbot of the monastery of Ripoll 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 ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

which included seven

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 ' ...

s, all decorated on the outside with the Lombardic ornamentation of blind arches and vertical strips. The geographical proximity of this Iberian region to the rest of

, resulted in depictions of the emerging

Romanesque art Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...

being brought to Catalonia. While the art failed to take root in the rest of the

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until the second third of the 11th century, there are numerous examples of its presence in Catalan counties before this time. Though this style may not be considered fully Romanesque, the area contained many of the defining characteristics of this artistic style.

Recognition and terminology

Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch 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 were declared a

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in November 2000. 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, and in Spain may also refer to the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

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, Mozarabic and Repoblación 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 in Bonate Sotto * Piona Abbey near

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

* Santa Maria Maggiore, Lomello * Sant'Ambrogio in Milan c. 1048 * San Michele Maggiore, Pavia * San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

* San Teodoro in

* Rotonda di San Tomè in Almenno San Bartolomeo * Basilica of Sant'Abbondio in Como * Basilica di San Vincenzo in Cantù * Rotonda di San Lorenzo in

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

* San Vincenzo in Prato in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

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

Spain

;Catalonia * Sant Pere de Roda, founded 943, started construction c. 950 * Ripoll Monastery. Finished and consecrated in 977 * Church of Sant Vicenç in Cardona, started in 1029 and consecrated in 1040 *Sant Cristòfol of Beget *Sant Pere of Besalú *Sant Vicenç of Besalú * Monastery of Sant Miquel, Cruïlles *Sant Vicenç of Espinelves *Part of Girona Cathedral *Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligans in Girona *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 Vall de Boí, *Churches of Santa Maria, Sant Pere and Sant Miquel in

Terrassa Terrassa () is a city in central-eastern Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona (Spain). It is one of the two capitals of Vallès Occidental county, being the larger in both area and population. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ''Te ...

*Church of Saints Just and Pastor, in Son ( Pallars Sobirà) ;Huesca *Church of San Caprasio in Santa Cruz de la Serós ( 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: Ordovés, Rasal, Lasieso, 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

France

* Church of Saint-Étienne, Vignory 1050–1057 * St Philibert at Tournus * Saint-Martin-du-Canigou, begun 1001

References

Sources

* Armi, Edson. ''Orders and Continuous Orders in Romanesque Architecture.'', Department of Art, University of Chicago. Oct 1975. pp. 73–188. * 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