BASILICA DI SANT'ABBONDIO
Church with a sober and elegant façade, flanked by two bell towers, in Como.
This masterpiece of Lombard Romanesque architecture is the work of the ancient master architects of Como, the Maestri Comacini. Built at the request of the Benedictine monks, the church stands on the site of a5th century early Christian basilica, the foundations of which still remain under the building. Consecrated in 1095, Sant'Abbondio was located along the Strada Regina, an ancient Roman road and the main trade route between the Po Valley and the Alps. Pilgrims and merchants passed through here in great numbers.
The basilica has a sober and elegant facade flanked by two bell towers, one of which was destroyed in 1555 and then rebuilt identically in the 19th century. Four columns leaning against the facade remain from the old 13th century two-story narthex, which once preceded the entrance. The interior is divided into 5 slender vessels, supported by powerful cylindrical pilasters with cubic capitals.
In the presbytery and in the apse, a remarkable cycle of frescoes realized between 1315 and 1325 decorates the walls. It relates scenes from the life of Christ and is one of the most complete pictorial ensembles of this period in Lombardy. The author, unknown today, represents landscapes and characters with a sense of detail and a rhythm of composition unique for his time. The ensemble, which had been severely altered by successive alterations, was restored to its former glory in 1863.
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