Lastre attribuite dalla tradizione all'urna di Piltrude fondatrice del monastero maggiore (sec. VII-IX)
(Oratorio di Santa Maria in Valle / Tempietto Longobardo, Cividale del Friuli)
Slabs attributed -according tradition- to the urn of Piltrude, foundress of the main monastry (VIII-IX cent.)
(Oratory of Saint Mary in the Valley / Small Longobard Temple, Cividale del Friuli, Italy)
photo Luigi Zilli, Officine Fotografiche Friulane]
Click here for a reconstruction of the urn, found in an article by prof. S. Lusuardi Siena and P.Piva:
"Scultura decorativa e arredo liturgico a Cividale e in Friuli tra VIII e IX secolo", Table XXI
of the "Atti del 14e congresso internazionale di studi sull'alto medioevo: Paolo Diacono e il Friuli Altomedievale (secc. VI-X)", Spoleto 2001;
[for further information on the congresses and their publications: www.cisam.org]);
The 29 tables with drawings of early Medieval Christian sculpture in Friuli at the end of the article
are a "must" for anyone interested in the art of this period
These sculptures can also be found in volume X of the series "Corpus della Scultura Altomedievale":
"Le diocesi di Aquileia e Grado", by Amelio Tagliaferr, issued by the same editions as the Acts mentioned before.
For comparison a complete "urna" (apparently a reliquary with the transferred remains is meant) from the same region and of the same period.
Urna / Sarcofago di Santa Anastasia (sec. VIII, seconda metà)
Crypta dell'abbazia di St. Maria in Sylvis, Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giula
Sarcophagus of Saint Anastasia (second half VIII cent.)
Crypt of the abbey church of St. Mary in the Woods,
(VIII cent.,destroyed by the Hungarians around 900, rebuild in the XI, XII, XIII cent.), Italy
[photo: Elio e Stefano Ciol?]
Or were these slabs part of the iconostas screen of the small Byzantine church that probably existed here before being transformed into a catholic oratory???