San Salvatore a Barzanò : da chiesa privata a canonica battesimale, tra storia, architettura e congegno figurativo

San Salvatore at Barzanò, from Private Chapel to Baptismal Collegiate Church. A Historical, Architectural and Art-historical Enquiry During the Middle Ages Barzanò was a small village forty kilometres northeast of Milan, in the low rolling hills of Martesana, the modern Brianza. The site was first mentioned in 1015 [doc. 1]: due to a privilege of Emperor Henry II, the bishop of Como was granted quandam curtem que dicitur Villa Barzanorum, having the right to dispose of it as a personal possession. The privilege was confirmed in 1055 by Emperor Henry III [doc. 2], but nothing informed us about the destiny of this territory until the late twelfth century, when it would appear under the control of da Porta orientale family, originating from the east side of Milan. At end of the thirteenth century, the local church of San Salvatore is documented as part of the diocese of Milan and controlled by da Pirovano family, also originating from Milan. The church was probably founded in the late tenth century as a private chapel, on the southeast side of a high ground, perhaps already fortified [ill. 1]. The church of Phase 1, consisting of a square shaped hall (6x6,5 meters) with timber roof and barrel-vaulted rectangular apse, is still partly recognisable in today's building [pl. I]. No architectural decoration, like arched frieze or sculptured elements, articulated the rude and thick masonry [pl. IX-XIII; ill. 3-5, 10]. It was probably the chapel of the main family of Barzanò, an expression of power and status. At the very beginning of the eleventh century, according to the chrono-typology of architecture and masonry, occurred a main renovation, reflecting functional and ritual changes. The stratigraphic analysis has clarified that the bell-tower was built first (Phase 2a), then the western bay, transforming the first facade in arcade (Phase 2b) [pl. II]. However, the context suggests that both phases belong to a single project [pl. VII-IX, XIII-XIV, XVI, XIX-XX; ill. 12-17]. Building the western bay, the entire nave floor was raised by 0,8 meters, both to level the hill slope and to make room for a crypt under the apse. In fact, although in the absence of stratigraphic evidence, the vaulted part of the crypt was very likely obtained in Phase 2b, excavating the basement and raising the apse floor. Two flight of stairs were probably positioned along the walls, three meters east from those still existing. The pre-Romanesque crypts of San Pietro al Monte at Civate (Lecco), San Daniele alla Pedeserva (Belluno), and San Salvatore at Almenno (Bergamo) are comparable in several aspects [ill. 23-24, 27-29]. Finally, an early christian sarcophagus was placed in the middle of the nave, at the level of the floor US 79 [ill. 30]. It was likely the burial of the dominus, i.e. the head of the household owning the church. In 2010, thanks to a micro camcorder, the inside of the sarcophagus has been explored, documenting disarticulated bones, mud, as well as the peculiar "bathtub" shape [ill. 31-32]. That of San Salvatore is one of the countless exemplars manufactured in northern Italy between the second and the fourth century, starting from big stones of serizzo, which is a rough grey granite widespread at the foothills of the Alps [ill. 34-39]. It was a medium-skilled production without any decoration, addressed to a patronage that couldn't afford a richly sculpted marble sarcophagus imported from the east side of the Empire. Most of "bathtub" sarcophagi were reused, mainly as burials during the early Middle Ages, usually as building blocks during the Romanesque period. Many examples are still visible in Milan, particularly in San Nazaro Maggiore and in San Simpliciano. Most likely in the late eleventh century, the chapel of San Salvatore evolved in baptismal collegiate church, although only five kilometers away from the ancient baptismal collegiate church of San Vittore in Missaglia. It was the occasion for a further architectural renovation (Phase 3) [pl. III]. A masonry dome on squinches, arcades and piers was built inside the central bay, squeezed up against the walls. The first (disappeared) baptismal font was set up under the dome, which was painted with Christ at the crown and the twelve apostles all around between ornamental bands [pl. XI-XIII; ill. 44]. Also the walls were painted, displaying a peculiar cycle of Christ, extended to the apse but not to the western bay, addressed to the faithful. The archaeological evidence of a parapet (?) (US117), at the corner southeast of the sarcophagus, allows us to assume that a structure would give emphasis on the burial, to celebrate the memory of the dominus [ill. 61-63]. The last medieval renovation dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century (Phase 4) [pl. IV]. The apse and the crypt were extended towards the nave by the excavation of a corridor/trench covered by timber ceiling [pl. XVII-XVIII, XIV, XVII]. The additional space was connected to the vaulted bay by two arcades, which were obtained demolishing the wall, while the stairs were 'moved' three meters west [pl. XIX-XXXIII; ill. 48-52]. The dome piers northeast and southeast required further foundations. The reorganisation of the liturgical space implied the dismantling of the first baptismal font, that was perhaps half-embedded in the floor, like in a few Romanesque ambrosian examples (Arsago Seprio, Cesano Boscone, Mariano Comense, Missaglia, Oggiono, etc.). The monumental western portal was realised quite possibly in the same phase [pl. XV; ill. 53-55]. On the keystone QUI FECIT HOC OPUS APPELLATUR SERIN PETRUS (who has made this artefact is called Serin Petrus) [ill. 56] is carved, while an almost disappeared painted inscription seems to have included the date 1231 [ill. 59]. The juxtaposition of serizzo (jambs, lintel, lunette), white marble of Musso (lunette), sandstone (capitals [ill. 57], slopes) and painted plaster (lunette, gable) shall ensure the fine polychromatic effect typical of the late Romanesque period. In the need to provide a new baptismal font, a workshop experienced in fine stone-cutting was hired, able to engineer and realise an octagonal structure consisting of no less than 49 pieces (considering those allegedly lost) assembled with meticulous precision [pl. XXXV-XXXVII]. The serizzo base consists of a main octagonal slab ringed by eight polygonal blocks. Eight polished slabs of red ammonitic (the so-called red Verona marble, also extracted in Lombardy) constitute the parapet, being based on the octagonal slab and joined by hydraulic lime and iron braces [ill. 64]. The border was formerly finished by a bulging cornice on eight small columns, whose bases were embedded in the ringing polygonal blocks [ill. 67]. Two concentric steps, made of polygonal blocks alternative red (ammonitic) and white (marble), buttress the parapet from the inside. The baptismal font was intentionally positioned under the double arch, so that the hole in the middle of the base could be right over the tiny gap between the old facade and the sarcophagus [ill. 48]: after the ritual, water could outflow conveying to a dry well. In San Salvatore there is neither material nor written evidence of an altar of Saint John the Baptist, even though it was used during the baptism, in particular in ambrosian context. By the enquiry referred to in Chapter V, it follows that during the Middle Ages twenty-three out of about sixty "pievi" (baptismal churches at the head of a ecclesiastical district) of the diocese of Milan had a distinct church including the baptismal font (still existing in nine cases [ill. 132]), and for other twenty-six there is documentation of an altar of St John the Baptist in the main church. The same is true for some baptismal churches which were not "pievi", as in the case of Barzanò. Why shouldn't there have been such an altar in San Salvatore? Was it perhaps a movable wooden one? The question still stands. On the other hand, the martyrial altar of San Biagio, which has been documented since the late thirteenth century (like in the baptismal churches of Galliano and Legnano), was against the front of the crypt, to the right of the central flight of stairs and close to the baptismal font. A mural decoration completed the renovation of Phase 3, that means presumably in the late eleventh century [pl. XXI-XXVI]. A peculiar cycle of Christ folds out in the domed bay, modestly and badly preserved despite the 2009-2010 fine restoration. The sequence begins at the top left of the south wall, as usual with the Annunciation [ill. 77-78]. After a gap of plaster (Visitation? Nativity?), it proceeds at the end of the second register with the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple [ill. 79-81]. There is nothing left of the hypothetical third register, where Jesus' Baptism could not be missed, right in front of the baptismal font. The sequence continues on the top left of the north wall, with unidentified scenes of miracle [ill. 83-84], then, on the second register, with another unclear episodes of Jesus' public life, ending with the triple Crucifixion [ill. 89-93]. The hypothetical third register could have included post mortem episodes. The radial composition of the dome, which implies Christ at the crown and the twelve apostles all around between ornamental bands [pl. XXIII], could be interpreted as the last episode of the christological cycle: the Pentecost, also considering the mural icon of the Virgin with Child at the base [pl. XXII; ill. 112], or rather the Mission of the apostles to the four corners of the World. Moreover, some details suggest a further level of exegesis, coexisting with the previous. According to the Phisiologus and the Bestiaries, the four eagles in the squinches [pl. XXII; ill. 113] assume a baptismal reference, but they also symbolise the faithful who are raising towards the divine. Among Romanesque patterns, the meander band is one of the most conceptual: the one at the base of the dome [ill. 101] seems to point out the line between earthly and heavenly dimension. Given the above, the painted dome could also be seen as a teophanic apparition of the Lord/Christ with his heavenly court, or even a synthetic representation of the heavenly Jerusalem. The mural decoration was extended into the apse, as proved by two fragments on the north wall, just over the door lintel [pl. XXVI; ill 94-95]. The lower one shows a part of halo under an arcade on a small column, close to the titulus ".(N)DREA": it is enough to envisage a sequence of apostles under arcades [ill. 96], charged to 'take part' in the celebration. The upper fragment shows the peculiar green/orange/white striped tunic worn by Christ (occurring not less than seven times) over a red frame: it means that at least one narrative register ran across the barrel vault. The experienced workshop rooted its language in the ottonian culture [ill. 114]; nevertheless, it doesn't automatically imply a chronology by the beginning of the eleventh century, as suggested by some scholars trusting only the "stylistic" analysis. Referring to the Middle Ages, the role of traditions, the strength of models of reference, the persistence of pictorial patterns, and the really slow transformations inside a workshop, should be stressed. In such a situation, architectural features are much more reliable as a chronological indicator; in this case they suggest the late eleventh century, which is not in contrast to what is depicted on plaster. A further mural decoration was executed around the turn of the thirteenth century, as we can gather from fragments preserved on the south wall of the western bay (a sequence of standing saints [ill. 121-123]) and on the north wall of the domed one (a friar [?] saint feeding a homeless person [ill. 82, 84]). Some decades after, the Annunciation was painted over the crypt altar: only the Virgin Mary and the arm of the archangel remains [pl. XXXIV]. Soon after the middle of the fifteenth century, an unidentified family commissioned a scene of reverence towards a (disappeared) saint, on the north wall of the domed bay [ill. 125-126]. By the middle of the eighteenth century a mural painting of the Nativity, dating back to the late Renaissance, was detached from the church of Santa Maria Podone in Milan and walled in over the major altar of San Salvatore [pl. XVII]. Just before 1923 the church was acquired by the municipality of Barzanò and abandoned to deterioration. Finally, from 2004 to 2010 the building has been restored to become a multifunctional space.