Minor Façade of the Duomo
Two inscriptions on the main portal of this facade put its construction into the context of the opening years of the 13th century:
The inscription in the keystone of the upper
arch records that, in June 1201 (the date at which
the lower part of the façade was completed) “the stars, the sun, and
the moon revealed a time of purity”. This optimistic inscription seems
to prophecy (unfortunately incorrectly) that an epoch of harmony
between Church and Holy Roman Empire was about to begin, and it presumably refers
to the fact that Pope Innocent III had recently recognised Otto of
Brunswick as the future Emperor Otto IV.
Another inscription along two sides of the top of the capital above the relief of Pope Innocent III (see below) records the fact that Anselmo degli Atti,
Bishop of Foligno and Nocera commissioned the work. He died within a few months of the completion of the lower part of the
façade. (It is odd that Anselmo still
regarded himself as bishop of Nocera in 1201, because Nocera had
regained its own bishop at least from 1190).
Work on the facade probably came to a halt when Bishop Anselmo died in 1201, by which time it seems to have reached the cornice below the loggia. (The sculptures along this cornice repay careful scrutiny). Comparison of the sculpture on the lower part of the facade with the signed work of Binellus
and Rodulfus at San Michele, Bevagna suggests that these sculptors were also
responsible for this part of the façade.
The tripartite structure above the cornice (which reflected the nave and two aisles behind it) was probably begun in ca. 1230.
The loggia probably belongs to this phase of construction. It has a second colonnade behind the one in the facade, and makes use of columns from earlier buildings.
- The statues of three griffins and a lion above the cornice also probably belong to this phase of construction. It is sometimes suggested that the griffins symbolise Perugia’s victory over Foligno in 1254.
The facade was originally lower than it is now. It was raised for the first time in ca. 1429, when the Trinci lords built a passage behind it to link the second floor of the Palazzo Trinci (on the left) to their residence in what is now the Palazzo delle Canoniche (on the right - see Walk I).
- Bifore windows to the left illuminated this passage.
- A slightly lower bifore window to the right illuminated a new room in the Palazzo delle Canoniche.
The present form of the upper part of
the façade is largely the result of a re-modeling by Vincenzo
Benvenuti in 1903-4. The replica rose and the bifore windows were inserted as part of this work.
Central Portal (1201)
Five concentric arcades adorn the upper part of the portal. The outer three have decorative reliefs, while the innermost has reliefs of the signs of the zodiac. This last sequence is interrupted at the top by a relief of a man and a woman, probably Christ and the Virgin (see the illustration above).
[Carved wooden doors ??]
Reliefs of Otto IV and Pope Innocent III (1201)
These figures are in niches on the inner faces of
the door posts.
- The imperial figure is sometimes thought to be an image of
the Emperor Frederick I, but given Bishop Anselmo’s bad experience during the
papal schism the had followed Frederick’s dispute with Pope Alexander
III, this seems unlikely.
- The ecclesiastical figure is sometimes taken to represent Anselmo
himself, but it is clearly of a young man (Innocent
would have been about 40 while Anselmo was about 70) in a papal tiara standing under what seems to be a representation of the Lateran Palace.
The two figures have equal status. Innocent III carries a pastoral staff while the Otto IV carries a scroll that symbolises temporal justice. Their presence marks the brief period of peace between pope and emperor before Otto's rebellion shortly after his coronation in 1209.
- The relief of fighting dragons below Otto IV possibly represents his temporal victories.
- The relief of what seems to be a goat below Innocent III possibly symbolises his defeat of heresy (with the goat representing pagan sacrifice).
Evangelists, Eve and the Virgin (1201)
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- the symbols of the Evangelists;
- a distraught woman surrounded by a snake, who presumably represents Eve; and
- a serene, crowned woman below a tree with doves, who presumably represents the Virgin.
Proceed to the interior of the Duomo.