medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (19. December) is also the feast day of:
Berard, bp. of Teramo (d. 1123). Today's less well known saint from
the Regno is said to have belonged to the family of the counts of
Pagliara (in the vicinity of the Gran Sasso). After entering monastic
life at Montecassino he became abbot of the not yet Cistercian
monastery of San Giovanni in Venere near Chieti and, supposedly against
his will, was elected bishop of today's Teramo (TE) late in 1115,
displaying in this office great piety, charity, and simplicity of
spirit. His Vita (BHL 1175) is attributed to an early thirteenth-
century successor; perhaps not surprisingly, it also lauds his
administrative ability and reforming zeal.
Teramo's late antique to early twelfth-century cathedral (therefore
B.'s cathedral church) was destroyed by fire at the end of 1155 or the
beginning of 1156. Known today as the church of Sant'Anna and outfitted
with a very plain modern facade, it has a few remains above ground but
is functional beneath. Two views follow:
http://www.contidimonteverdebasso.it/ChiesaSantAnna.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/bs3d6
Its successor, begun in 1158, is dedicated to the BVM and to B., whose
relics are retained here. Increasingly brief Italian-language accounts
of this building, which was restored in the early 1930s, are at:
http://www.agriturismo.abruzzo.it/Arte_Medioevale/Arte_Medioevale.htm
http://www.diocesiteramoatri.it/arte/cattedrale.asp
http://www.concapeligna.it/Comuni/TERAMO/davedere/da_vedere.htm
http://www.abruzzoheritage.com/magazine/2002_05/a_it.htm
http://www.cesn.it/patrimonio%5Farchitet/abruzzo/teramo.htm
B.'s church is in two main parts, one from the twelfth century and the
other, attached to the former at a slight angle, from the thirteenth.
There are two facades, both of which are composites from different
periods of construction. Two views showing the newer facade are here:
http://www.italiantourism.com/images/prew_2100000016785.jpg
http://www.diocesiteramoatri.it/immagini/foto/diocesi.jpg
The saint in the niche on the right is said to be B.:
http://www.italiantourism.com/images/prew_2100000016815.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/ca4t6
A view of the older facade:
http://www.vetcare.gr/Teramo_central.jpg
The main portal (the one with the "gothic" peak) is undergoing
restoration and has been covered for months now with protective
sheeting. A slide show of views of this will be found in the left-hand
column of this site on the church (caution: many java applets):
http://www.chieseteramane.it/chiesefuoriporta_02_CattedraleTeramo.html
A four-page, illustrated guide to the exterior (click on "avanti" at
lower right) is here:
http://www.viedellidentita.it/risorsa1-esterno-pag1.html
And a plan of the interior (with illustrations that open when one
clicks on the numbers) is here:
http://www.viedellidentita.it/risorsa1-interno.html
Exterior details and a few treasures from within are shown in
expandable illustrations here (caution: expansions are slow to load):
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/mpaolizz/cultura/monumenti/duomo.htm
Inside, the enamelled antependium (between 1433 and 1448) before the
main altar is a real treat:
http://www.arpai.org/en/restauri-teramo1.html
Open the .pdf for a close-up and discussion (a little less than halfway
through the file).
Finally, some views of the abbey church of San Giovanni in Venere at
Fossacesia (CH) are here:
http://www.abruzzovacanze.net/vr.php/it/95
http://www.abruzzoverdeblu.it/?id=28
http://www.comune.fossacesia.ch.it/page_select.asp?id=68
and an English-language account of the abbey is here:
http://www.abruzzoheritage.com/magazine/2000_12/200012_a.htm
Best,
John Dillon
(last year's post, revised)
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