Fonti battesimali (XI-XIII secolo). Verona e l'Italia settentrionale

A summarizing study on Italian baptismal fonts hasn’t been produced yet, although the area has generated considerable interest because of the antiquity of the evidences and because the tradition of building baptisteries, that ceased relatively early somewhere else, continued here also in the Late Middle Ages. The remains of early Christian times attracted scholars attention for the richness of material solutions or symbolic meanings. As such, they, are fairly well known as a whole, both in material terms and in terms of the liturgical context in which they were included. In contrast, late middle ages artefacts were individually analyzed and often times placed, with difficulty, in a still unclear ritual framework, confusing and sometimes not distinguished from that of previous centuries. For this reason, the research focuses on this latter period, approximately from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, embracing in the broad sense what we consider the Romanesque period, and the study is limited to the homogeneous area of Northern Italy. The work could be based on a rich but fragmented framework of monographic studies on individual artefacts which have been significantly enhanced by archaeological investigations carried out in recent decades. Our research explains that the territory in question differs clearly from Northern Europe, the only area in which, to our knowledge, similar studies have been pursued. On one hand, in fact, the number of testimonies collected is relatively small (forty-four, of which only thirty-two attributed with certainty), in contrast to a far reaching series; on the other, a quarter of the items consists of masonry tank remains, well identified archaeologically, not known in other European regions or not studied together with the carved fonts. This situation has not allowed the development of wide-ranging iconographic or morphological studies, but has the advantage of providing some data about the structure of plants, their location and their functioning, elsewhere either undetectable or generally neglected. In order to understand the peculiarities related to the baptismal fonts built in this period, we decided to manage diachronically – both in terms of material evidence and liturgical context – the study of a defined area, the diocese of Verona, were we can find several interesting features. First of all, in Verona there is an artefact, the basin of the city's cathedral, really great for monumentality, quality and structure of the iconographic plan. This work has been considered in relation to the church where it is located and its liturgical use in the cathedral complex; it was therefore possible to better define the original context through relevant, unpublished documentary evidences on the baptistery and its management, that was shared between the bishop, the cathedral chapter and clergy of San Giovanni in Fonte. These evidences suggest, among other things, that the baptismal font had a highly symbolic role, but that its use was limited to the solemn celebrations and became, relatively soon, marginalized. The basin, which besides needed a critical revise, was also considered in its material respect and iconographic choices and, finally, we proposed a stylistic assessment in the context of the fervid artistic season in Verona at the turn of the twelfth century (Part I, Chapter 2). To outline the historical situation in which this font was made, and to assess the impact of this prestigious model, which we duly verified, we considered the whole city, where there is another basin included in the census, that of San Zeno in Verona. We also considered the surrounding territory, where there are other items of the thirteenth century: those of San Giorgio di Valpolicella, and, probably, of San Pietro at Zevio (Part I, Chapter 3). The diocese of Verona appears, therefore, relatively rich in claims relating to this period and even later; of these we have tried to give an account, ranging from the beginnings to the fifteenth century. The history of the baptismal rite in the diocese was traced, therefore, from the time of st. Zeno, simultaneously with that of the material structures in which it was celebrated, beginning with the case of controversial interpretation of the so-called Santa Maria in Stelle hypogeum, to the baptismal font of San Giovanni in Campagna at Bovolone, dated between the sixth and eighth centuries, that has been archaeologically investigated in recent years, and to the fragments of the later ciborium of San Giorgio di Valpolicella, dating back to Carolingian age. After a careful examination of the XI-XIII centuries, involved in the maximum development of the parish (plebs) and the beginning of its crisis, we tried to review the artefacts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries still in existence, almost always crafted in the same material (‘rosso ammonitico veronese’) and characterized by an octagonal section (Part I, Chapter 3). The second part of the work is a review of the baptismal fonts of Northern Italy: it is preceded by some considerations, chiefly concerning the applicable criteria to distinguish this group of artefacts from another apparently similar, such as holy-water stoup or oil containers. These structures were grouped according to general likeness, functioning and materials in which they were made. Finally, we verified the importance of diachronic studies, which consider the transfers and the marks left on monuments throughout time, thereby shading a light on the development of both liturgical practices and ways of thinking, two factors significantly affecting toady's perception of the artworks themselves.