2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE LONGOBARDS IN ITALY. 12° 44’ 36” E The Clitunno Tempietto PLACES OF THE POWER 5. At Campello del Clitunno Between the Via Flaminia (568-774 A.D.) The Clitunno Tempietto and the Clitunno river NOMINATION FOR INSCRIPTION 42° 50’ 32” N ON THE WORLD HARITAGE LIST 12° 45’ 25” E The Santa Sofia complex with church and annexed cloister, part of the abbey, STATE PARTY 6. In Benevento today housing the Museo del Sannio Italy The Santa Sofia complex with Piazza Matteotti, Via Cardinal di Rende church and annexed cloister, part REGIONS AND PROVINCES of the abbey, today housing the The Sanctuary of San Michele Friuli Venezia Giulia (province of Udine) Museo del Sannio Piazza Carlo d’Angiò, via Reale Basilica, Lombardia (provinces of Brescia and 41° 07’ 50’’ N Piazza Don Luigi Sturzo, National Road Varese) 14° 46’ 53’’ E no. 272 Umbria (province of Perugia) Campania (province of Benevento) 7. At Monte Sant’Angelo ANNEXED MAPS OF THE NOMINATED Puglia (province of Foggia) The Sanctuary of San Michele PROPERTY SHOWING BOUNDARIES 41° 42’ 30” N AND BUFFER ZONES GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES 15° 57’ 15” E TO THE NEAREST SECOND The maps, in digital image form, have TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION been printed in an outsized scale to make 1. At Cividale del Fiuli OF THE BOUNDARIES OF THE them as easy to read as possible within The Gastaldaga area with the so- NOMINATED PROPERTY the spatial limits permitted. The metric called Tempietto Longobardo and scale of reference is therefore printed on and the Episcopal complex with The Gastaldaga area with the so-called each plate. the Palazzo Patriarcale below the Tempietto Longobardo and and the National Archaeological Museum Episcopal complex with the Palazzo Cividale del Friuli 46° 05’ 39” N Patriarcale below the National Boundaries of core zone and buffer zone 13° 25’ 59” E Archaeological Museum – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 2003) Piazza del Duomo, Via G.Batta Gandolini, 2. In Brescia Via Monastero Maggiore, Stretta T. Brescia The monumental area with the Cerchiari, Piazza San Biagio Boundaries of core zone and buffer zone monastic complex of San – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 1996) Salvatore-Santa Giulia, today The monumental area with the monastic housing the Museo della città complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia, Castelseprio – Torba 45° 31’ 59” N today housing the Museo della città Boundaries of core zone and buffer zone 10° 14’ 06” E Via Avogardo, Vicolo San Zanino – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 1994) (Private Baldini Institute), Private 3. At Castelseprio-Torba Institute Padri Saveriani, Via dei Musei, Spoleto The castrum with the Torba Tower Via Piamarta, Private Artigianelli Institute Boundaries of core zone and buffer zone and the church outside the walls, – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 1995) Santa Maria foris portas The castrum with the Torba Tower and 45° 00’ 06” N the church outside the walls, Santa Campello sul Clitunno 9° 27’ 11” E Maria foris portas tab. n. 1 Boundaries of core zone and Provincial Road 44, Via di Castelvecchio buffer zone – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 4. In Spoleto The Basilica of San Salvatore 1995) The Basilica of San Salvatore Piazza Salmi, cemeterial area, 42° 44’ 31” N unsurfaced road 3 ITALIA LANGOBARDORUM

Benevento refuge for themselves and their families a lower presbytery, divided by pairs of Boundaries of core zone and buffer zone and, above all, an institution that guaran- columns in three parts covered in barrel – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 1999) teed the continuation of their assets. King vaults. The sumptuous decorative Desiderio alone, together with his wife scheme, including mosaics on the vaults, Monte Sant’Angelo Ansa, founded three monasteries (in addi- stucco figures and ornaments, and a Boundaries of core zone and buffer zone tion to San Salvatore in Brescia, there series of frescoes painted in aulic style – Map (aerophotogrammetry, 2004) were those in Leno and Sirmione) and all and skilfully refined, make this one of the the dukes of the peninsula conformed to most splendid and ambitious works to this model, undertaking ambitious archi- reach us today from 8th-century Europe, BRIEF DESCRIPTION tectural enterprises unparalleled in Europe probably the work of the Royal couple OF THE SERIAL PROPERTY at that time. Astolfo (749-756) and Giseltrude. In Sources testify – and monument evidence particular, the stucco tondo figures of The serial property “The Longobards in confirms – that the construction industry female saints show the refined and high Italy. Places of the power (568-774 was well organised with guilds of spe- level of artistic production achieved in A.D.)” comprises the same assets previ- cialised craftsmen who could carry out Italy in the late Longobard era. ously selected (in 2008) for recognition of complex commissions to high standards. The Temple, together with San Giovanni, the Site called “Italia Langobardorum. Not having an architectural, pictorial or the Palatine Church of the royal court, Places of power and worship (568-774 sculpture tradition of their own, the stands in the urban area belonging to the A.D.)”; the small differences in the current Longobards used the existing skills of the castle, next to the early Christian Church configuration of nominated property and local craftsmen. This is one of the reasons of Santa Maria, which became an refer to a) extension of core zone for that the Longobard artistic style in Italy is Episcopal church with annexed Palace in Brescia, b) extension of buffer zones for extremely composite and presents specific the late Longobard era. Spoleto and Campello core areas, c) the characteristics in different parts of the The Episcopal complex, renovated and exclusion of the modern building to the kingdom. Faced, therefore, with a clear extended by the patriarch Callisto, con- north-east of Santa Sofia for Benevento, unity of intent which brings together all sisted of a set of communicating build- meeting the Recommendations by ICO- the monument complexes – owing to the ings, which included the Basilica, the MOS desire for self-determination of the Baptistery of Saint John the Baptist and Sporadic documentary evidence sug- Longobard élites and legitimization before the Patriarchal Palace. From the gests that the Longobard élites in Italy the indigenous population – we find Baptistery, discovered at the start of the commissioned prestigious buildings heterogeneous artistic creations which, for 20th century beneath the Duomo, come right from their arrival (palaces and resi- example, in Lombardy seem to be more two of the most important works of dences, but also churches and basilicas), conspicuously subject to the Merovingian Longobard sculpture, currently preserved along the lines of their Roman predeces- influence, as in Friuli the influence is more in the Museo Cristiano e Tesoro del sors, in order to affirm their position and Byzantine and Syriac. The language in Duomo, a short distance from their origi- authority. different areas of Italy was therefore Since the century before the Carolingian different, but the various formal dialects annexing of the north and centre of the were mutually comprehensible. peninsula (second half of the 7th-first half Today’s region of Friuli is the area of of the 8th century A.D.), the Longobard Longobard settlement in Italy that is kings and dukes begun more frequently richest in testimonies and findings; in and more systematically to committed particular, one of the most complex and themselves especially to the construction original buildings of Longobard architec- of churches and monasteries. The ture is preserved at Cividale del Friuli, the monastery, in particular, is a typical foun- so-called “Tempietto Longobardo”, dation of this period, an expression not Oratory of Santa Maria in Valle, with a only of the strength of the faith of the single chamber, square-plan, covered in a Longobard nobles, but also a place of spacious cross-vault, which terminates in Cividale del Friuli, the “Tempietto Longobardo” 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

nal location. The high level of craftsman- Longobard period and to a secular housing. Historical sources recall the ship explains the excellent customer base. It is a unique repertory, for Xenodochio, which hosted the pilgrims, quality of Callisto’s “tegurio” – an octago- it displays the ubiquitous creativity and and the so called Peresindo’s Hospital. nal aedicule which covered the baptismal experimentation attitude of workers who The monastic complex area spread font, with columns and arch vaults finely elaborated a new original language as Westward with houses, burial places and sculpted with symbolic images and rich result of the confluence of different productive plants. The walls evidences still decorative motifs – and the altar traditions: the indigenous, Barbarian, visible in situ testify the presence of the commissioned by King Ratchis – the only Byzantine and Arabic ones. large number of Longobard buildings, sculptural piece from the Longobard era The monumental area of San Salvatore- with different functions and structural featuring a biblical narrative theme, Santa Giulia in Brescia is an extraordinary quality. Such evidences were uncovered in achieved using a linear and calligraphic architectural palimpsest that incorporates what is still considered to be the most language that invert the standards of clas- the female convent built by Duke Desiderio complete medieval urban excavation, sical naturalism, and enriched by a vivid of Brescia, with his wife Ansa in 753 A.D. within an area where the most important chromatism and a precious set of mount- before becomingking. The Church of San pre-existing Roman remains in Northern ed stones. Salvatore is one of the most important Italy are preserved. The remains of the Patriarchal Palace were testimonies of late mediaeval architecture: S. Salvatore - S. Giulia Monastery, which uncovered beneath the 16th-century Palazzo the building, with triple apse transept, had had reception structures for pilgrims and dei Provveditori Veneti, designed by Andrea three naves with a series of columns and accommodation for the poor, played a Palladio, today home to the Museo capitals, some recycled from the classical fundamental role in the society of the Archeologico Nazionale which houses the era and from Byzantium, others made for time, both in religious terms and in burial items from urban and suburban this purpose. The church was entirely political and economic terms. Its impor- necropolises of Cividale, real treasures of decorated with stuccoes and frescoes; the tance did not diminish after the fall of the Longobard artistic craftsmanship. decorations, along with those of the Longobards: its richness and high prestige The exceptional nature of the proposed Cividale Tempietto, are one of the richest over the centuries led to new important artistic item is provided by the preserva- and best preserved collections of the Early architectural interventions, extending tion of the most representative structures Middle Ages. A complex play of stucco Desiderio’s complex until it became the and spaces of the secular and religious reliefs and wall paintings probably deco- structure that we see today, which, in élites. This offers a clear proof of the rated the crypt, which also had the three- addition to three cloisters from different socio-cultural composition of the urban apse system of the upper floor. Within the eras, includes the Romanesque Church of civitas – the Longobard ruling one – as church, enhanced by a marble liturgical Santa Maria in Solario, the 15th-century well as of the strategies performed by the assemblage of which numerous elements choir and the 16th-century church of Santa dominant classes in the power manage- are intact, can be found a number of tombs Giulia. The entire complex, the result of an ment. Indeed, the site includes evidences of the privileged, one of which is thought exceptional recovery and valorisation of the rich artistic production ascribed to to be that of Desiderio’s wife, Ansa. project, is currently home to the Museo The complex somehow recalled architec- della città, which houses the finest artistic tural and ornamental models already used testimonies of the long history of Brescia in the Capital Pavia, and subsequently in and its territory. Cividale. Nevertheless it became a While Cividale and Brescia, like referring point for the prestigious Benevento, demonstrate the settlement architectures ordered by the secular and methods of the Longobards within the religious purchasers. As a whole, it is most important cities in the urban system possible to recognize here traditions of created by the Romans, Castelseprio- North-European (British and Alemannic), Torba is excellent testimony of how high Mediterranean (Ravenna’s and Roman) altitude fortified systems, which and Oriental ascendancy. developed during the late Roman era The Monastery had service structures for following the first Barbarian invasions, the pilgrims reception and the poor were re-used. The castrum, destroyed by Brescia, the Church of San Salvatore 5 ITALIA LANGOBARDORUM

the Visconti in the late 13th-century – with dedicated to the story of the childhood of sacred places played a primary role in the the exception of buildings of worship – Christ are presented in the central apse of power strategies. and following its abandonment, retained the small triple-apse structure enriched Again in the duchy of Spoleto there is the the fundamental features that with an inlaid marble floor. The series of same tendency for the prestigious archi- characterised it: the imposing wall circuit, figures is complex and dense with tecture conveyed in the monuments of the a place of shelter for the inhabitants in episodes and references, alternated with northern duchies. One of the best pre- times of peril, the high quality of the symbolic images; the style is free and ani- served examples is the Basilica of San housing system and of the main worship mated which renews and revitalizes the Salvatore in Spoleto and the Clitunno complex of San Giovanni Evangelista, expressiveness and Hellenistic pictorial Tempietto in Campello, both outstanding with basilica and annexed octagonal bap- quality and is unequalled by other edifices designed using classic Roman tistery, completely reconstructed by the creations of the time. style features. Most of the sculpted Longobards in the 7th century and used The Wideramn epitaph probably comes ornaments are new works rather than internally and externally for the burial of from the church and is one of the first recycled spolia from ancient buildings, important local personages. testimonies of written Longobard funeral designed and realised in such a A particularly significant example of culture. Conquering the written culture of convincing, skilful and credible way that military architecture is the Torba tower, the victors went hand in hand with as- they also convinced Palladio that the placed at the summit of the fortified site of similation of architectural and decorative Tempietto was a Roman temple and it still Castelseprio, which led down to Valle cultures. Having first entered the funeral puzzles and astounds scholars to this day. dell’Olona, and which, in late Longobard ritual with the purpose of evoking the The Church of San Salvatore, which pro- times, was used as a female convent. The memory of the personality rather than bably had funerary functions originally, rooms on the first and second floors of the merely the physical aspects of the has a three-aisle basilica floor plan, with tower, used by the nuns as a sepulchre deceased, writing soon took on new presbytery divided into three parts, and and oratory respectively, preserve functions of celebrating the image and central vaulted covering with octagonal noteworthy remains of paintings which, in status of the Longobard élites: it is in this base. The semi-circular apse is closed on some iconographic respects, are function that we encounter it in the most the outside by a straight wall and flanked reminiscent of the stucco work in the extraordinary architectural works, the by two apsed, cross-vaulted rooms. One Cividale Tempietto. painted dedicatory inscriptions of San characteristic element on the interior, The Church of Santa Maria foris portas in Salvatore and Brescia and the Cividale which has lost almost all of its pictorial Castelseprio, a private aristocratic Tempietto, the inscriptions on the tegurio and stucco decorations, is the rich building with annexed cemetery, placed in of Callisto and on the altar of Ratchis, entablature with Doric frieze set on Doric the area of the burg which developed again in Cividale, in the epigraphs in the columns in the nave and Corinthian westwards of the castrum, preserves one Sanctuary of Saint Michael on the columns in the presbytery. Of the original of the finest pictorial texts of the whole of Gargano Coast, the architectural inscrip- rich decorations of the façade, alternated the Early Middle Ages; the scenes tions on monuments in the duchies of by pillars and divided into two orders by a Spoleto and Benevento, clear references to Imperial Roman customs. The complex as a whole represents an extraordinary example of castrensian settlement which stands out for its spatial organization, monumentality and typolo- gical variety of its buildings. The great number of worship buildings, characte- rized by different functions, public and private, is a proof of the influential relationship of the Longobard élites with the Church, to the extent of creating a “new” model of settlement where the Castelseprio, Christ Pantocrator Spoleto, the Basilica of San Salvatore in S. Maria foris portas 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

cornice, which must have terminated with ed one for the Malatesta Temple in upturned position to form bases. The cir- a triangular fronton, remain the window Rimini. Inside the Temple, painted murals cular perimeter wall, which becomes frag- cornices and three portals with skilfully of remarkable quality, which have been mented beyond the presbytery area, elaborate classical motifs. S. Salvatore compared to the frescoes in the presbytery terminates in the three apses. In the two Church is an early architectural evidence of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome, framed minor apses are preserved the most of the Longobard period, as expression of a small marble aedicule in the apse, important pieces of the pictorial series the ruling élites ideology. It inaugurates a which is also partly the product of the dedicated to stories of the life of Christ, model for the medieval religious archi- assemblage of recycled Roman material which probably covered the entire interior tecture. As original products of different and purpose-designed decorations. surface of the church. The fragmentary attitudes (Roman-Hellenistic, Bizantine The little temple represents a master- nature of the images partly limits the Longbards, indigenous, Syriac), it preco- piece of religious and commemorative effectiveness of the painting, which is ciously embodies the cultural pluralism architecture, to the extent of being a pil- nevertheless the highest testimony of which is the Dark Ages peculiar trait and grimage destination (see graffiti). Its “Benevento painting”, an art movement of the ground of the Medieval Europe. structures and decorations together with considerable importance (also involving The design of the recomposed spoils is the surrounding landscape make of it a the two monastic centres of San Vincenzo common to the extraordinary marble unique work where artificial elements and in Volturno and Montecassino), parallel to works of San Salvatore and those of the natural environment (Clitunno river and the scriptura beneventana phenomenon, Clitunno Tempietto, a small sacellum in the holy locus) perfectly merge. the national script of the Longobards in the form of a tetrastyle Corinthian temple Like the dukes of Spoleto, Arechi II, southern Italy, also used in monasteries to with two side porticoes in antis, located son-in-law of the Friulan Desiderio and the transcribe works from antiquity. in Campello sul Clitunno. The façade duke of Benevento also carried out presti- Annexed to the church of Santa Sofia was features splendid columns covered in gious monumental initiatives, trying to a female convent, whose extraordinary leaves from the portico, whose architrave develop their own aulic construction style cloister, with Roman-style forms, re-uses bears an inscription in extraordinarily and court art with marked ancient a number of elements of the original carved square Roman capital letters features. The clearest and highest expres- Longobard construction. The cloister and invoking God, complementing the sion of this intention is the Church of the convent structures are currently home inscription on the side porticoes. This is Santa Sofia, one of the most complex and to the Museo del Sannio, which houses one of the rare examples of monument best preserved complexes of its era. The some extraordinary exhibits from the city. epigraphs of the Early Middle Ages; the dedication to Holy Wisdom, Haghia This peculiar star-shaped Church is a practice of placing monument Sophia, which is expressly influenced by sophisticated, extremely peculiar product inscriptions on the façade of a building the Great Church in Constantinople which of both Roman-Hellenistic and Bizantine had been abandoned in late antiquity and stood near the imperial palace, offers tradition (because of the central plan, was not re-introduced until the 14th another example of the ambitions of its typical of the V-VI cent. oriental century when Leon Battista Alberti creat- sponsor patron architecture) meeting the Longobards atti- The church was built in around 760 A.D. as a personal chapel and national sanctuary by the duke, for redemption of his soul and salvation of his people and nation. The quality and inspiration represented by Santa Sofia are testified by its complex central structure and by the intricate vaulted roof; the interior space is divided by columns and pillars laid out to form a central hexagon and a concentric decagon; the columns of the hexagon bear recycled, but carefully selected, capitals from the classical era, also placed in an Campello sul Clitunno, the Clitunno Tempietto Benevento, the Church of Santa Sofia 7 ITALIA LANGOBARDORUM

tude towards experimentation, which in Longobard inscriptions preserved in the JUSTIFICATION this building is realized once again by a buildings, gave life to vast monumental thought out exploitation of the spolia . reconstruction works at the sanctuary, to Statement of Outstanding Moreover, the Church anticipates the facilitate access to the primitive cave and Universal Value renewed interests in central planned buil- provide hospitality for pilgrims. With the dings, which will spread mostly in Longobards it became one of the most The nominated serial property series Northern Europe starting from the important places of worship in bears a unique and exceptional testimony Carolingian time especially in the palace Christendom and was an international to the disappeared Longobard civilization chapels. destination of pilgrimage, one of the last at its acme during the Kingdom of Italy After 650 A.D., the Benevento Longobards stages on the road that lead to the Holy (568-774 A.D.). incorporated into the territory of the duchy Land, coinciding in with the ancient route The Longobards created architectural and the Gargano region, where, worship of the of the Via Traiana southern Italy, which monumental forms –which were Archangel Michael was established the 4th since then took the name of Via Sacra completely alien to the traditions of century onwards, thanks to ongoing Langobardorum. nomad and semi-nomad peoples– on the intense relations between the Greco- In the centuries following the fall of the Italian territory only, thanks to the recep- Byzantine world and Apulia. Worship of Longobards, the Normans, Swabians and tion conservation and enhancement of the the Archangel was, in some aspects, the House of Anjou adopted worship of form and content of Classical and congenial to the sensitivity of the Saint Michael and became attached to the Christian culture. Longobards; indeed they were now Gargano sanctuary, and carried out impor- The extraordinary integration and converted to Christianity, and must have tant reconstruction works, changing the interchange process between the original felt a particular attraction for Saint original architectural layout of the upper North Germanic culture, the local (Roman Michael, in whom they found attributes part of the sanctuary and enhanced it with and Byzantine) culture and the contribu- and characteristics of the pagan Wodan, new decorations and important treasures. tion of the Mediterranean and Eastern considered the supreme god by Germanic Today the sanctuary is still a pilgrim desti- European culture, is remarkably testified populations, the god of war, psychopomp, nation, with morphological and ritual fea- by the artistic and monumental protector of heroes and warriors. From the tures dating date back to the Longobard expressions of the Late Longobard Age 7th century, the Gargano sanctuary in period. and finds its highest expression –thanks Monte Sant’Angelo was considered a The sanctuary is one of the rare Dark Ages to its unique and exceptional nature- in the national Sanctuary by the Longobards and loca sanctorum preserved through the properties included in the nominated it soon became the most important place centuries. Particularly, the heritage possi- series. of worship of Saint Michael in the west, bly ascribed to the Longobard phase – They represent the creative response to influencing all others. with its exceptional epigraphical corpus – the attempt made by the Longobards to The Longobard dynasties of Benevento, is a unique evidence for the Longobards reconcile diverging cultural and artistic but also those of Pavia, as testified by history outline, being expression of a expressions (syncretism) and stand out in peculiar spirituality insofar as they com- the Early Middle Ages for their excellent bined the German pagan beliefs with artistic quality. Christianity. The Longobards, indeed, transformed and gave new life to S. The serial property, therefore, has an Michael’s worship, which so much con- exceptional and universal value as the tributed towards the development of the highest expression of the fundamental medieval pilgrimage – unifying factor of historic function performed by the the Bizantine Mediterranean basin and the Longobards in the crucial transition phase Northwestern Europe and the Germanic from the Classical to the Medieval world; world. This became a universal reference, a transition phase which the most modern both for the Christian faith displays and historiographical trends consider a the architectural setting of S. Michael’s continuum characterized by the hundreds sanctuaries built in the West. integration of different civilizations. Icon of San Michele, golden foil 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The serial property exemplifies on the one and permanent imprint in Italy and then importance of the cultural interchange the hand the specificity of the Longobard in the rest of Europe, not only on the Longobards were involved in, underlining culture in the background of the Early subsequent Carolingian rule, but also on on the one hand the specificity of their Middle Ages; on the other hand the the following 1,000 years of European culture in the Early Middle Ages and on the universal nature of the contribution made History. other hand the universality of their by the historical and cultural group to the contribution to the formation of Medieval formation of Medieval Europe. Indeed, the The Site bears the most significant Europe. Longobards played a pivotal role in the testimony to the fundamental contribution formulation and diffusion of those the Longobards made to the forging of (iii)to bear a unique and exceptional meaningful imprints - cultural, artistic, Medieval culture. The series components testimony to a cultural tradition or political and religious – which spread from represent the creative responses of the civilization which is living or which Italy to Europe and anticipated the so long integration and assimilation process has disappeared; called “renovatio” - traditionally the Longobards were involved in. associated with the Carolingian age. The series shows with extraordinary The serial property, which includes seven completeness: component parts -all belonging to the The cultural heritage of the Longobards is • the excellent cultural synthesis the same historico-cultural group- bears a still alive in many facets of art, law and the Longobards made between their own unique and exceptional testimony to the Christian religion, as well as in other values and traditions and those ones of disappeared Longobard civilization, intangible aspects. the peoples they encountered during witnessed by new monumental, archi- their long migration, and the values tectural and artistic forms, the product of belonging to the Classical civilization, to the reception and the integration of the Criteria under which property the Christian-Roman-Byzantine civiliza- highest developed local traditions. The is nominated tion, which led to the development of a Longobards expressed themselves in new and genuine civilization; such forms only after their arrival to Italy. (ii) to exhibit an important interchange of • the reception, the conservation, the human values, over a span of time or enhancement and the dissemination of The serial property bears the clearest within a cultural area of the world, on architectural, monumental and artistic testimony to the strong determination of developments in architecture and tech- form and content of the Classical, a semi-nomad barbarian people – with no nology, as well as in monumental arts, Roman and Hellenistic cultures; previous artistic and architectural town-planning and landscape design; • the reception, the transformation and the traditions – to embrace and to portray processing of a number of contents and themselves as the heirs of Classical The serial property is of the utmost expressions of the Christian tradition, culture and civilization. importance as an excellent model of the which the Longobards disseminated all interchange of values, artistic and cultural over the world; in particular they deeply The properties of the series are the expressions established by the historical influenced the spread of the worship to highest and most widely recognized and cultural group of the Longobards in St. Michael in Western Europe, which expressions of the new and peculiar the epoch-making transition phase led to the construction of dedicated artistic culture developed by the between the Antiquity and the Middle sanctuaries all over Europe, including Longobards, which spread to all the Ages. the most famous, Mont Saint Michel on Duchies of the Kingdom, featuring a the borders with Brittany; unified vision and divergent languages Among all the peoples, even nomad and • the fundamental contribution the and objectives, according to the different semi-nomad peoples, who lived in the Longobards made to pilgrimage, which customer élites (kings, dukes, time frame considered (6th - 8th century led in the Middle Ages to an intense aristocracy). A.D.), the Longobards stood out for their interchange of values and the extraordinary capacity to disseminate development of a sense of unity between In its totality the series mirrors the their pregnant cultural, artistic, political different peoples. universality of the Longobard culture at and religious marks. They left their deep Therefore the series testifies the its climax, as it is fully representative of 9 ITALIA LANGOBARDORUM

the cultural, religious and social systems, The use of monumental inscriptions, Bobbio, Montecassino and Farfa on which the articulated organisation of sometimes in golden bronze letters, no Monasteries. power was based and then modelled and longer used after the age of Constantine, In so doing, they encouraged the determined by the Longobards in Italy. In is a further manifestation of their intent; transcription and survival of literary, this view the proposed series is not made • the conceptual, religious and political artistic and scientific works, dating back to up by homogeneous goods from the value the Longobards and their innova- the Antiquity. The relevant handing down typological point of view, but rather by tive cultural system attributed to of iconographies through manuscripts in structures, which are heterogeneous in Christian religion and traditions. miniature made a further contribution to a their function and morphology; those are Christianity accompanied the establi- continuum stretching from the Antiquity indeed testimonies of an urban culture shment and the consolidation of the up to the present day. (Cividale), of military settlements Longobard Kingdom and was supported Moreover, Longobard culture survives (Castelseprio), of monastic complexes by the royal court and the aristocracy, today in the ongoing importance (Brescia), of buildings for the religious who were generous and faithful attributed to their places of worship, in cults for the élites (Spoleto, Campello), benefactors. particular to a number of monasteries, of votive chapels of the Longobard peo- where the architectural stratification, a ple (Benevento), of national sanctuaries The series meets the criteria of integrity sign of continuity, increases their value of the Longobards (Monte Sant’Angelo). and authenticity both as a whole -since it and authenticity. represents the universality of the monu- In its diversified artistic and architectural mental expressions of the historical and The pilgrimage to the grotto of St. Michael expressions, the serial property symbo- cultural group of the Longobards- and - still partly accessible along the ancient lizes and shows: with reference to the single buildings and route of the Via Sacra Langobardorum– is • the fundamental function performed by complexes and to the extraordinary a prominent example of worship practices the Longobards in merging the cultural decorations, including the rich graffiti and directly related to Medieval traditions. and architectural models of the classical the inscriptions on the walls of the St. Roman and Hellenistic civilizations with Michael’s Sanctuary in the Gargano area, The worship to St. Michael in the Gargano those of the Christian-Byzantine civiliza- the most important collection of existing area, transformed and strengthened by the tion; Early Middle Age inscriptions. Longobards, led to the construction of • the new artistic and architectural trends numerous dedicated churches and other established by the Longobards, together (vi) to be directly or tangibly associated places of worship and as many statues of with Eastern European workers laid the with events or living traditions, with the Archangel Michael, with open wings, foundations of the subsequent ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and holding aloft his sword, on top of many Carolingian ‘’Renaissance’’ and –for the literary works of outstanding universal bell-towers in Europe, a typically very first time in history– of a real significance; Longobard symbol in defence of local ‘’European’’ culture; communities. • conservation and survival of the cultural The Longobard inheritance in Italy is heritage dating back to Antiquity, which remarkable: from the language we speak Notably, the history of the Longobards is the Longobards handed down, since today to people’s and place names, even if featured in important literary works – they portrayed themselves as the heirs more significant is their contribution to including Historia Langobardorum written of a past they knew, felt and perceived as the handing down of forms and models by Paul the Deacon in the 8th century, present. One of the most typical –as well as the remains themselves- of Adelchi written by Alessandro Manzoni in elements of their architectural comple- Classical Antiquity, an indisputable point the 19th-century and Rodelinda, Regina de’ xes is the ideological and conscious use of reference for artists of all ages. Longobardi (Rodelinda, Queen of of the spolia from Roman monuments, By the same token, the Longobards made Longobards), an opera by Georg Friedrich which were re-used and installed in a fundamental contribution to European Händel. All the above-mentioned works places that emphasized their symbolic culture with the foundation of great portrayed the Longobard cultural value, and integrated into high quality Monasteries, and the reconstruction and experience and rendered it universal. new elements produced for that purpose. extension of existing ones, including CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI 10 ANNEXED MAP

BRESCIA 12 ANNEXED MAP

CASTELSEPRIO-TORBA 14 ANNEXED MAP

SPOLETO 16 ANNEXED MAP

CAMPELLO SUL CLITUNNO 18 ANNEXED MAP

BENEVENTO 20 ANNEXED MAP

MONTE SANT’ANGELO 22 ANNEXED MAP