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The Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul
The story of Agliate
Agliate is a small town in Brianza,Its location favoured the
settlement of people over thecenturies. With the missionary
presence of Saint Ambrose,Christianity started spreading
and the church of Agliatebecame a landmark for
religious people. Only in thischurch could people be baptized. From the 9th to the 11th centurythe baptistery was built and the
church took the name of “Basilicaof SS. Peter and Paul”.
Restoration works
The shape of the Basilica, as we see it today, is the result
of extensive restoration works carried out since the
16th century, so it is difficult to identify the
original characteristics of the church.
There were three doors in the façade but only one of them was in use. The bell-tower
did not exist.
Only the nave was covered with a
roof, there was no floor orpavement and only the main
apsewas frescoed; the church waspaved with poor materials in1587. In the first half of the17th century the bell-tower
wasbuilt, but in the 19th century it
was demolished, rebuilt and accomplished in 1900.
From 1724 to 1759 the plan ofthe Basilica became cruciform:
the first two arches of the nave
were destroyed to create atransept.
A new sacristy was built between
the church and the baptistery,which was consolidated in the
19th century.Later the floor was covered in
terracotta.
The Façade
From the church square we can admire the façade, which repeats the church’s three-
nave structure.The central door was rebuilt in
1894. It is bordered by ancient jambs decorated
with osier tangles.
The Inside
The interior of the basilica has one nave and two aisles with wooden beamed ceiling and a presbitery over a crypt with a barrel roof.
Not a single column, or base, or capital is the
same as another.The capital of the last column but one on the
left has a carving of two dolphins drinking from a Kantharos from which a
trident (Neptune’s sceptre) sticks out.
The inside of the basilicais rich in symbols: thewindows are 33, theyears spent by Jesus
Christ on the earth, thecolumns are 6 and the
arches 7. They recall the6 days of the creationand the 7° day of rest.
The naves are 3,symbolysing the trinity.
The CryptFrom the left-hand aisle, going
past an altar wich contains saint Biagio’s relics, we go
down the crypt which is dedicated to St. Andrew the
Apostle.The ceiling with cross vaults is
supported on little stone coloumns with capitals. One of these is of white marble,
it is an example of Carolingian sculpture and
dates back to the 9th century.
In past times women could not enter it. They were allowed to watch services through
the two mullioned windows with two lights.
The Frescoes
The surviving medieval frescoes can be admired from the
bottom of the stairs leading up to the main altar.
The presbitery, with its rectangular plan and its barrel vault, has
some frescoes.It is possible to see:
• Christ the judge, with the right hand lifted to
administer justice;• The Eagle which represents the apostle
John the Baptist.
On the left side of the central nave there is a small frescoed section
which suggests that the frescoes were on two
levels and they showed scenes from the Old
Testament in the upper row, from the New
Testament in the lower. They date back to the
10th century.In the middle, inside a circle, there is
God the father.On the nearby wall there is a fresco
depicting “our lady of milk”.On the left aisle, deprived of windows,
there is a fresco portraying the blessed Virgin of graces. She is sitting on a throne with the holy Child on her lap. They hold a flower in their hands: the Virgin a twig of roses and the holy child a lily. The Virgin has fair hair and
a melancholy look.
The Baptistery
The baptistery is famous for itsenneagonal plan and its cycle
of frescoes.In the middle there is the characteristic octagonal font
for baptismal immersion.
On the barrel vault there are two images of SS. Andrea
and Giacomo, two apostoles of Christ; to their right there
is St. Onofrio. To the right of the main door
there is the Deposition of Christ.
These frescoes represent Jesus who gives the
Keys to Saint Peter and a Madonna with a child.
The holy child is revealing to his mother his
passion and death and dates back to the first
years of the 14th century.
Bibliography
http://web.tiscali.it/no-redirect-tiscali/scuolabaroni/agliate.html
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