Saints Peter and Paul Church on Kirchbichl in Lavant - dolomite rock as building stone

BASIC INFORMATION

ACCESSIBILITY: freely accessible
MUNICIPALITY: Lavant
ADDRESS: Lavant Kirchbichl
GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES: 46.795532, 12.834683
PROVINCE: East Tyrol

DIRECTIONS

The Church of the Saints Peter and Paul is perched on the "Lavanter Kirchbichl", above the St. Ulrich pilgrimage church. You can reach Lavant via the Lavanter road, following the signs in the village to the parking facilities at the foot of Kirchbichl. From there you can follow the marked path to the church, visiting other places of interest on the way.

DESCRIPTION

The Church of St. George in Kals am Grossglockner - Dolomite stone as a binder for plaster

BASIC INFORMATION

ACCESSIBILITY: freely accessible
MUNICIPALITY: Kals am Grossglockner
ADDRESS: n.a.
GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES: 47.006783, 12.643648
PROVINCE: East Tyrol

DIRECTIONS

The church St. George in the district of Unterburg can be reached via the Kalser highway. Drive along the Kalser road towards the village of Großdorf. After crossing Kalser creek, you will see the church on the meadow on your left.

DESCRIPTION

St. George's Church in Kals am Grossglockner.

The St. Georg church is located in the middle of a meadow close to the bank of the Kalserbach creek and is a typical example of a Romanesque-style country church from the thirteenth century (it was mentioned in documents for the first time in 1366). The church is a narrow, single-nave building with a semicircular apse and a massive square tower facing north. The interior of the church contains historic murals painted over a plaster-covered masonry. The plaster binder was made of dolomite stone, which was probably burned in one of the nearby lime kilns in Kalser Tal.

BASIC INFORMATION

LOCATION

municipality: Vallada Agordina (BL)
address: località Sacchet
GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES: 46.369528, 11.935585

ACCESSIBILITY

• wheelchair accessibility: the entire Church
• recommended season: summer
• directions to reach the starting point: Vallada Agordina is located in Valle del Biois between Canale d'Agordo and Cencenighe Agordino on the S.P. 346 of the S. Pellegrino Pass. The church is located in S. Simon, above the Sacchet village and is visible on the southern slope of Mount Celentone, in a panoramic position.

INFORMATION

• opening time: summer or contacting Pro Loco of Vallada Agordina
• telephone: Pro Loco Vallada Agordina 324 5906493 / 349 5483129
• email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DESCRIPTION

The area of upper Agordino boasts a real jewel of art and history which closes one of the most prolific painting series of the fifteenth century in the Province of Belluno. It was painted around 1550 by Paris Bordone, a pupil of Tiziano Vecellio.

The church houses the high altar brought from Germany which dates back to the sixteenth century, as well as other Venetian paintings and sculptures. Together with the organ of Antonio Callido from 1802 and some precious frescoes, it truly is a religious building of national importance. In the immediate vicinity is the ancient oratory of the Battuti Confraternity (the name derives from the brotherhood's penchant for self-flagellation) and its Virgin of Mercy.

The church of Saint Simon is a perfect illustration of the domesticity of the dolomitic rock from the Contrin Formation. This kind of stone was used by the renowned stonemasons of Cencenighe for the production of objects for domestic use, such as mortars, vessels, stoves, water troughs for the animals, millstones and handmills, but also more elaborate elements like fountains, architectural pediments, water stoups, kiosks, capitals and other artifacts.

The nave floor is made with planks of larch wood whereas that of the chancel and the choir are slabs of grey limestone quarried in the vicinity. Dolomite, on the other hand, can be found in the old side doorway and some elements outside. In 1877 the church is mentioned as National Monument.

The Church and Bois Valley (photo by Giacomo De Donà)

BASIC INFORMATION

LOCATION

municipality: Feltre, Anzù
address: Viale Ss. Mm. Vittore e Corona, 19
geographic coordinates: 46.002015, 11.941020

ACCESSIBILITY

• wheelchair accessibility: outside
• recommended season: all year
• directions to reach the starting point: once arrived in Feltre continue towards Anzù passing through the railway station. Once in the village, turn left following the signs for "Basilica Santuario Ss. Vittore e Corona".

INFORMATION:

• Opening hours: always open
• telephone: 0439 2115
• email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DESCRIPTION

This Sanctuary, with which the people of Feltre feel a special bond was erected in the eleventh century, right on top of the limestone rock of Mount Miesna. Devotion to the two martyr saints is quite common throughout the territory of Feltre; the day dedicated to their worship the 14th of May which is celebrated by congregating on Mount Miesna.

Dolomitised limestone is the material of choice used for the external foundation. The church does not have the classical crypt as seen in similar edifices precisely because it is perched directly on top of the rock which is spread out throughout the territory of Feltre and the underlying valley.

It is the most important Romanesque building in the Province of Belluno. Judging by the ark (reliquary) in the apse belonging to the young crusader Giovanni da Vidor, which serves as a martyrium, the approximate date of construction is estimated to be around 1096.

The nave, together with the entire sanctuary complex, is of great interest not least because of the murals from the twelfth and the twenty-first centuries. Intriguing elements of the whole composition are the ten notched cubic inlaid capitals surrounding the gallery on three sides around the apse. By way of stone analysis, it was established that the columns are Turkish marble from the Isle of Marmara, perhaps salvaged from another edifice, whereas for the capitals was used dolomite stone, rather common in the areas of the Venetian Prealps and the Dolomites. The capitals were embellished with inscriptions in cuphic characters or verses in Arabic ("the Universe is God"), using the elaborate niello technique.

The nuances of the colouration depended on the amount of black screw (used for black) and the pigments of the iron oxide which tinged in red, that were added to the oily paste of calcium carbonate. Scientists assume that the capitals were created either with the skills already mastered during the work on Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice or using a variety of Greek and Arabic sophisticated techniques because of the typical incrustation in niello or mastic.

The Sanctuary (foto by Giacomo De Donà)