Abbey of Sant’Urbano di Domo

INTERIOR The building has a nave and two aisles; the vaults show various constructional discontinuities; those of the first and second bays are barrel vaults. The corbels of the first pillars, which support the arcades dividing the nave from the aisles, retain remains of decoration: on the capital of the first pillar on the north, facing the north aisle, appear two quadrupeds, perhaps deer feeding on a shrub (see photo: capital with deer); above them run a decorative motif and a ribbon cornice. On the same pillar, the corbel on the side facing south has instead a curious decorative motif (see photo: capital with warriors) in which three human figures can be made out: the first from the right is an armed figure, with its back to the central figure, a horseman (partly illegible because the head has been chiselled away) with lance couched, facing a third warrior, clad in armour, who confronts him raising a shield. The terminal corbel of the second south pillar is decorated with a hunting scene: a hominid aims his bow at a quadruped; the scene is completed by a star and a triquetra, symbol of the Trinity (see photo: capital with triquetra), the latter motif also appearing on two other capitals (one in the church and one in the hall of the raised presbytery). Two other capitals, on the pillars separating the presbytery space from the lower church in the nave, are carved: the southern one with two dogs (?) surrounding a prey, and again the triquetra; the northern one again with two dogs (?) around a horseman about to strike. The capitals carved with hunting scenes deserve particular attention: if ornaments devoted to human figures in Christological or hagiographic scenes are already rare for this period and this area, even more unusual are these capitals, in which the human figure is placed in a context that is not religious but entirely secular. In the south aisle, two half-columns mark the end of the first bay; in the north aisle, on the other hand, the supports consist of two pillars. The aisles are covered with roughly made groin vaults. At the end of the second bay of the aisles a wall blocks the raised access to the presbytery, while a structure resembling the base of an iconostasis occupies the whole width of the nave: this construction probably dates from a period later than the building of the church. High up in the wall open two large pointed windows; below the southern one, the masonry has a saw-tooth decoration above a cornice of small overlapping pointed arches bearing traces of yellow paint; below these decorative bands opens the door into the presbytery (seven steps above the level of the nave): below the northern window an extension has been built along the nave (forming a short corridor giving access to the crypt), probably serving as a pulpit. CRYPT Not open to visitors and under restoration at the time of the visit. The space corresponding to the nave can barely be seen, while the presence of the side aisles can only be guessed. The crypt consists of three aisles divided by eight columns, apparently identical, with undecorated capitals. PRESBYTERY The apse is very beautiful, repeating the decoration of the exterior. As in the church of S. Maria a Pié Chienti, the central apse is decorated with blind arches and pilaster strips (two arches between each pair of pilaster strips), and with three single-light windows. The half-pillars supporting the apse arch have capitals decorated with floral and geometric motifs. The two bays of the presbytery (nave) have slightly pointed groin vaults. The nave is lit by four single-light windows, one of which certainly had a small central column, creating a sort of two-light window. This window also had two small side columns, evidently removed, since only their small decorated capitals and a small human head facing the presbytery remain in place. The two capitals supporting the vaults dividing the nave from the aisles are of exquisite workmanship. The one on the right is carved with geometric and floral motifs; on the northern one, two confronted lions seem to be feeding on a plant. The supporting capital at the end of the north apse has floral decoration similar to others in the church but is completed by a fish. Opposite it, another capital is carved in the form of a knotted serpent. Two other capitals of the compound pillars of the nave bear decorative motifs: the northern one, five small arches on small columns with a cross in the central one, the whole surmounted by an interlace motif; the southern one, in the upper part, traces of vine tendrils, while below the motif of the five small arches is repeated, but in the central one there is the figure of a wolf (or dog? or fox?). A cornice decorated with plant, human and animal motifs runs along the wall above the arch dividing it from the south aisle (and only for the length of this bay, while the other bays have a simple plain cornice). The interior masonry shows no particular care in its laying, unlike the exterior, although here too the stones are well squared. The north wall shows marked signs of outward subsidence (one of the columns set against this wall is actually broken). This perhaps explains why the four external buttresses were built.