Il battistero ottagonale e l'organizzazione dell'insula episcopalis tra tardoantico e altomedioevo (in Archeologia in Piazza dei Miracoli)

Archeologia in Piazza dei Miracoli. Gli scavi 2003-2009 (a cura di A. Alberti-E. Paribeni), 2011

Within the CARE project, the writer deals with the cataloguing of the churches for central-northern Tuscany, with a particular attention to their topographical impact on the long-term. e aim of this paper is to make a focus on the analysis of the ecclesiae episcopales in all the towns of the Tuscan territory, highlighting the following points: - report with pre-existence; - impact on the urban plots in the longue durée; - monumental developments of the episcopal churches in the Early Middle Ages; - relationships of churches with the centres of ‘secular power’;- relations of the ecclesiae episcopales with the other urban and suburban churches; - structural developments of the church buildings. rough the analysis of all these elements, the main purpose of this paper is to o er an organic synthesis on the topographie chrétienne of the cities of Tuscia, incorporating the analysis of ecclesiastical buildings into a “global” reading of the morphogenetic phenomena of urbanism, until the formation of the medieval city.

The contribution addresses the development of episcopal complexes (the monumental headquarters of the bishop and the seat of his diocese, which comprised cult-buildings and a multiplicity of residential and administrative structures) in the cities of Northern Italy during Late Antiquity (4th-6th century). Episcopal complexes provided urban communities with new foci of civic life, reflecting the increasing importance of the Church in public life beyond the religious sphere. As an expression of adequate organizational and financial means, the progressive monumentalisation of episcopal complexes can be considered as a reflection of this evolution.

During Late Antiquity, members of the secular clergy provided a noteworthy contribution in the Christianization of urban and rural landscape and performed an increasingly important social role precisely for their role of builders. In this paper, literary sources, as well as epigraphic documents, are analyzed in order to highlight the role played by religious men in the patronage of architectural enterprises. They reveal managerial skills in order to oversee the construction process. In many cases, members of the lower clergy and laical collaborators support the episcopal authority in auxiliary tasks and the population lays a remarkable role in the effective realization of the building enterprises, too. In such a way, the ecclesiastical architectural yard can be considered as a multi-layered resource for the ancient society, both as a mean of Christianization and as redistribution of economic resources.

Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Antiquité, tome 116, n°1. 2004. Antiquité. pp. 117-139, 2004

Riassunto Sulla base dello studio delle iscrizioni d'apparato esposte da Sergio III all'interno della basilica Lateranense verso il 904 ed il 911, nonché del confronto tra il suo epitaffio e quelli del predecessore Stefano VI e di Silvestro II e Sergio IV di un secolo più tardi, lo studio ricostruisce il progetto di restaurazione della centralità dell'episcopio rispetto al Vaticano nel quadro della politica religiosa che tali personalità tentarono di attuare ispirandosi alla figura ed all'opera di Silvestro I. Nella medesima prospettiva va posta la redefinizione del programma decorativo dell'abside del sec. X rispetto ai precedenti paleocristiani. L'esito di tale politica ecclesiale e pastorale non porterà i frutti sperati-così come i succesivi tentativi di Sisto IV e Sisto V che cercarono di imitare l'azione di Sisto III-perché alla sequela Petri che il Vaticano poteva vantare non basterà al Laterano il carattere storico di episcopio nonché alla basilica costantiniana quello di ecclesia mater. Citer ce document / Cite this document : De Spirito Giuseppe. La basilica lateranense nel quadro delle vicende del Patriarchio del secolo X. L'evidenza epigrafica. In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome.