Church of Santa Maria del Lago in Moscufo (Chiesa di Santa Maria del Lago) description and photos - Italy: Pescara (Topic)

Church of Santa Maria del Lago in Moscufo (Chiesa di Santa Maria del Lago) description and photos - Italy: Pescara. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Chiesa di Santa Maria del Lago.

Photo and description

The Church of Santa Maria del Lago is located in the small town of Moscufo near Pescara. Initially, this pretty church was called Santa Maria ad Lukus (onion is a forest sacred to the Latins), and then the people began to call it Santa Maria ad Lacum (lacus is a lake), although there was never any lake or even a pond in the vicinity.

A typical Romanesque facade of pale bricks houses a 12th century stone portal decorated with symbols of the four Evangelists and Christ. And in the meadow right in front of the church there is a huge font made of white limestone. The interior decoration of the church, made in the style of a basilica, is quite strict, if not severe. Eight columns and two brick pilasters support round arches and divide the space into three aisles, which end with the same number of apses. The latter are decorated with fragments of frescoes depicting the Last Judgment (late 13th century), the twelve apostles and Christ. The statue of the Madonna, made in 1490, deserves special attention.

But the real gem of the church of Santa Maria del Lago is the pulpit, which in 1159 the abbot of Montecassino Rainaldo commissioned the master Nicodemus. The lectern is made of plaster, on a square base, and stands on four columns, separated from each other by three arches, one of which is decorated with a trefoil ornament. This impressive ornament shows the influence of Lombard, Arabic, Celtic and Mediterranean art, which is typical for the masterpieces of Nicodemus. The bas-reliefs depict symbolic and biblical scenes - Job, swallowed by a whale and then thrown under a tree dimorphant, or David fighting a bear and a lion. Also here you can see the symbols of the four Evangelists - an eagle, an angel, a lion and a bull.

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Topic: Church of Santa Maria del Lago in Moscufo (Chiesa di Santa Maria del Lago) description and photos - Italy: Pescara.