Modena Cathedral

According to our guidebooks, Modena's cathedral, completed in 1099, is the finest of Italy's Romanesque cathedrals. Apart from its age, it seemed fairly unremarkable, except for one item of sculpture.

West facade

South (starboard) side

Extra south-side portal for VIPs

Looking up the great campanile, the Ghirlandia

On the west facade, possibly not a Last Judgment; possibly someone had been
to Siam?

Some good Old Testament reliefs

Cain bonks Abel, etc.

Knave view

Elevation: alternating piers and columns, triforia,
clerestory, and then...4-part Gothic vaulting...
it was indeed an age of transition, and the
Church was a hugely international organization 

The crypt was very interesting and accessible; almost
Moorish-looking

Thus, with tomb of St. Enzo on the right

View of rood screen from altar; the white band across the
screen is actually the Last Supper tablecloth! So it said

Back outside; the little arched recesses all around the church are entirely exposed
brick now; except for these two, showing earlier plaster and paint

North door frame sculpture...the months and their labors...pretty
standard 

North door, archivolt: the Porta della Pescheria; this is the first known stone
representation of Arthurian legend; scholars appear to agree on a date in the
early 12th century; not only are there relevant scenes from the legends, the
various characters are given their Breton names: Artus de Bretania, Winlogee
(Guinevere), Galvagin (Gawain), et al.; it's not unusual to see something
completely secular on a church; but it's a long way to Tipperary, I mean,
Tintagel

Modena

Vicki was running low on aceto balsamico, and I was running low on Ferraris, so we decided to head on to Modena. We found ample public parking close in to town, by the bus station, and walked the rest of the way to the centro storico, a few hundred meters.

An old San Giovanni church, dated 1190

Above the Farmacia San Marco (his attribute is the lion)

Street scene, on a major piazza

Painted arcades

Love the gentle curve

Ditto

Before Old Navy, Original Marines

Central piazza

Orator's stone, a Medieval soapbox of sorts

Modenans killed resisting Mussolini

Contemporary building art; oh, Vicki got some 30 year-old aceto balsamico; the
Ferrari will have to wait until the lira drops dramatically

More Parma Churches

But not too many more...

Just east of the duomo is the monastery
church of St. John the Evangelist...mostly
16th century

Stern to bow shot; note the floor tile, which runs throughout

View from altar

Coronation

More Corregio

Interesting St. John receiving the Revelation, over the west
door

And now for something completely different: in the monastery
museum next door, this interesting scene, identified only as
"Luigi Tessoni, 1987, Parma, Italia"; Tessoni died in 1988, and
there was a retrospective of his work some years back at the
monastery; the above was in a closed off room

Moving right along, we were in the Church of St. Mary della
Steccata, and I was snapping another apparent swirler, when
Vicki observed a Celebration was in progress and that I
should show more respect..."fanculo quella merda" I muttered,
respectfully...

Parma Cathedral

One of the sights in Parma that attracted us was the cathedral, the duomo, which was consecrated in 1106. Much within it is newer, merely Renaissance, etc., but still of great interest.

Lombard Romanesque, the tower under scaffolding

Of equal interest is the Baptistry, same age, same beautiful pink
Verona marble

One of the Baptistry doors

Detail, sort of a Judgment...

Tree of Jesse

It has been some time since we were in an Italian cathedral; they're darker, of
course, lacking the great windows of the north; and the great height; but every
square inch is painted or otherwise decorated, sometimes gloriously; not a bad
trade-off

Even the ceiling...which in this case looks like standard
four-part Gothic vaulting...painted

Fortunately, there is often a Divine Illumination Machine;
we have learned now to be patient and let someone else pay
the two euros... although this deprives me of the opportunity
to stage-whisper "Let there be light"; also any side
benefices or indulgences

Apse area with its great domes

Antelemi's Deposition relief; same guy who designed the Baptistry

The central dome, Antonio Corregio's Assumption of the Virgin

Closer up: one of the first great swirlers...

Closer still...that's Mary at about 7 o'clock, bare-breasted; you'll
have to guess who is there in the center, with clean feet (I can
never look at these things without thinking of The Assumption of 
Gala and Salvador into Heaven at Figueres) (hint: don't look up
His drawers)

Alas, the only conspicuous stained glass in the place actually ruins what might
have been a great Mannerist Maesta (inside west wall)

Gated side chapel

Elevation; dark; but color everywhere

Exterior, high up on the bow