Novigrad No. 1 / Cittanova / Novigrad Istarski / Sitanova d'Istria

Image copyright © Miljenko Jurković, 2018
PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE – IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
Results: 1 records
view of baptistery - detail
INFORMATION
FontID: 25222NOV
Church Location: [address & coordinates for the present church] Veliki trg 7, 52466, Novigrad, Croatia
Country Name: Croatia
Location: Istarska Županija
Directions to Site: Located off road 301, W of the E751, on the peninsula SW of Trieste. The disappeared baptistery was located on the S arm that delimits the bay, by the original Church of St. Pelagius -- the Museum is next to it
Date: n.d.
Century and Period: 7th - 8th century, Early Medieval
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Pol Herman for bringing this baptistery to our attention
Church Notes: the church to which it belonged(?) dated from the 8thC; modified 1408, 1580, 1746, 1775 and 1935
Font Notes: Click to view font notes
Jurković 2018) mentions an inscription on the ciborium of the baptistery in Novigrad: "The Istrian bishop Mauritius, mentioned before, was identified with the one mentioned on an inscription on the ciborium placed in the baptistery of the cathedral in Novigrad/Cittanova." The Muzej-Museo Lapidarium [http://www.muzej-lapidarium.hr/zbirka-lapidarij-en/] [accessed 30 December 2023] has a brief history of its collection by Jerica Ziherl which informs: "Bishop Mauritius Ciborium, late 8th century, limestone. The hexagonal ciborium stood in the baptistery of Novigrad cathedral. The arrangement of the ciborium sides is determined by the inscription running along them just below the cornice. The inscription is incomplete. Interpretation according to G. Cuscito: HOC TIGMEN LUCEFLUO ALMOQOE / BAPTISTERIO DIGNO MARMORE (ERECTUM?) / MAURICIUS EPISCOP(US) O (BT)ULIDEO SUMMO / E STUDIO DEVOTE PECTORE TOTO. BEATE IOHANIS / (…) ERRE SE DELEARIS PLURA NOSTRA CRIMINA." The entry also provides an image of a replica of the ciborium. The entry for this baptistery in the Istra tourist site [https://www.istra.hr/en/experience/culture/cultural-sights/bishop-mauritius-ciborium] [accessed 30 December 2023] informs: "Bishop Mauritius Ciborium. The hexagonal ciborium (vaulted altar canopy) stood in the baptistery next to the Novigrad cathedral. Its ancient appearance was recreated in a drawing by L. Dufourny (1754-1818) who had found it in a dilapidated condition. Thus the reconstruction of the fragmentary ciborium is not entirely univocal. The inscription along its arches refers to Bishop Mauritius, who commissioned the ciborium. As Istrian bishop, Mauritius is mentioned in a letter by Pope Adrian I to Charlemagne (dated to between 776 and 780), which also sheds light on the time of origin of the ciborium. The composition and the choice of motifs in the relief decorations are characteristic of ciboria in general, but above all of those in the Veneto and Friuli regions. The Mauritius Ciborium, without equal in Istria, was presumably produced in a workshop in Cividale, and represents the last echo of the "Liutprand Renaissance", the Lombard art at the new Carolingian court."
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material:
stone
Font Shape: hexagonal
Basin Interior Shape: hexagonal
Basin Exterior Shape: hexagonal
INSCRIPTION
Inscription Language: Latin
Inscription Notes: [cf. FontNotes]
Inscription Location: on the ciborium
Inscription Text: [cf. FontNotes]
Inscription Source: [cf. FontNotes]
REFERENCES
Jurković, Miljenko, "Istria under the Carolingian Rule", Migration, Integration and Connectivity on the Southeastern Frontier of the Carolingian Empire, Leiden: Brill, 2018