Le coperture degli edifici ecclesiastici nell’Italia medievale: aspetti funzionali, valori estetici e ideologici

Covering systems of ecclesiastical buildings in Medieval Italy: functional aspects, aesthetic and ideological values · This paper examines roofs and covering systems of medieval ecclesiastical buildings in central and northern Italy, par - ticularly focusing on the period between the Romanesque era and the end of the Middle Ages. A particular perspective is adopted, aiming at investigating, apart from structural and functional issues, other aspects which will contribute to fully understand the role of sacred buildings’ highest parts and their aesthetic and ideological implications. The choice of specific materials, such as terracotta Roman-type tiles, lead or variously coloured coated tiles does not only depend on economical or strictly technical reasons, but it could also be associated with different aims, without excluding the former ones. We are referring to the research of visibility, ensured for example by a stunning roof or spire, which is able to impose itself on the surrounding landscape; a precise willingness to remind prestigious antique buildings can equally intervene (notably in the case of lead coverings). The roof is usually framed with ornamental elements, such as decorated bands just under the eaves or sculpted/painted cornices; above the slopes or the domes, several distinguishing features can be situated, bearing a clear decorative meaning, as it is the case of sculpted pieces. Some functional artefacts, such as anemoscopes, can likewise convey some spiritual and ideological messages, like the angel-shaped ones, frequently placed at the top of the domes. As the result, the article pays attention to slightly neglected issues in the study of medieval roofs, showing the complexity of this particular building component, notably in ecclesiastical sites and in wide territories, as the Italian is, where several technical and cultural traditions are strictly intertwined.