Sarkis Shahinian

Introduction

The aim of this article is to introduce the reader to the mentality regarding architecture in Europe during the second half of the 8th century and the entire 9th century, when the groundwork was laid for the development of the Romanesque.

The Carolingian imperial court was able, by means of architecture, to combine the religious symbolism of the Sacred Scriptures with forms associated with the places of the origin and early development of Christianity (Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch and Constantinople in particular), communicating historical, geographical and symbolic references to the observer, references which could be perceived by the subjects, by the faithful, and were clearly representative of the ruling authority.

This particular approach to architecture, this pursuit of compositional clarity which closely resembles the manner in which the Armenians utilised stereometric volumes in the construction of churches during the Middle Ages, suggest the usefulness of an albeit cursory overview of Carolingian architecture in the context of this cycle of studies.

Historical revisitation

Two fundamental principles sum up the sense of the theocratic monarchy of Charlemagne:

- the renewal, under Frankish rule, of the Western Roman Empire;

- the claim to the power of an ideal, absolute kingdom, that of Christianity, concentrating both temporal and divine authority on earth in the figure of the ruler, as the Vicar of Christ.

The sensation of an achievement of architectural completeness, especially in the edifices built during the reign of Charlemagne (742-814), is the result above all of the process of cultural unification under the aegis of Christianity, effected thanks to the concordance and the organisational capacity of the members of the court [1].

Charlemagne was moved by the desire to revive the Christian classical style of the late Roman empire, not only in terms of political organisation, but also in those of culture, and especially of art. This desire led to the need to systematically promote education and cultural development.

The Byzantine city and the overall organisation of the Byzantine empire become the models for the reforms of Charlemagne, aimed at reducing the cultural differences of the empire.

On the one hand ecclesiastic and liturgical differences were reduced by means of the adoption of the Benedictine model for all the large monastic complexes of the empire. One of the most immediate consequences of this decision was a uniformity of liturgical practice, which become processional, in keeping with the Benedictine tradition. At the same time, there was a need to standardise the composition of the structures of the monasteries, due to the demographic growth of the monastic commu-nities. The Benedictine monasteries were seen as a truly international institution, the only such entity to have maintained rules of living and culture in the moment of political vacuum caused by the fall of the Western Roman empire; as a result, this model was admired, at Charle-magne's court, as an example of social stability [2].

On the other, social reforms included the use of Latin as the official language of the empire, facilitating the development of a unified economic system across the kingdom, with uniform weights and measures, and a unified form of administration of landed property. Only in the area of legal matters were local traditions allowed to survive, when they were not contradictory to Christian morals.

In order to put these reforms into practice, Charlemagne invited the most important personalities of the culture of the time, persons of different origins and backgrounds (including Byzantines and Syrians), to his court, creating a veritable school, of which he was himself a pupil, together with all the members of the imperial family.

The territory of the empire had been expanded by Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Short, with the conquering of the Arabs, the Saxons, the Basques and the Aquitaines, the effective beginning of the evangelization of Germany and, at the same time, the establishment of a solid alliance with the Church [3].

During the first twenty years of his reign Charlemagne further extended the borders of his rule (annexing the Lombards, and conquering the Saxons, the Avars, the Bavarians and the Aquitaines). Nevertheless, after returning from his last voyage in Italy (781-786), he realized that his remaining military resources would not be sufficient for a continued policy of conquest, without threatening the stability of the empire; such a prospect was certainly not consistent with his hopes for homogeneity.

Charlemagne, in comparison to the Byzantine court of Constantinople (where the emperor was surrounded by a powerful, highly educated court, financially backed by a strong merchant class), or to the ancient capitals of the western Roman empire like Rome, Milan, Ravenna, did not have his own true centre of power, with religious or secular public monuments worthy of representing the capital of Christianity. Thus the need to create a stable, representative headquarters for himself and for the court, in Aachen.

The following observations are based, in part, on indirect sources, or on studies which have focused on certain points rather than others. Their objective is simply to summarize, on the basis of the existing literature, the important historical phases which preceded or accompanied the consolidation of the Carolingian empire, and some of its most characte-ristic architectural products, especially those built during the reign of Charlemagne. In particular, we will closely examine the Abbey of Centula and the palatine chapel of Aachen which, thanks to their compositional clarity, can be seen as veritable social and religious manifestos of Carolingian art [4].

Toward the end of the paper, there is also a brief discussion of the possible Armenian origin ([Strzy], [Conant]) of the plan of the oratory of Germigny des Près.

[1] To name but a few: Einhard and Angilbert (both of Frankish origin), the Deacon Paul (Lombard), Theodulf (Visigoth), Alcuin (Anglo-Saxon), Odo of Metz (origin uncertain).

Fig. 1: Scheme for a Frankish hall-type church [Braun] (W. Boeckelmann).

[2] The extension of the Benedictine rules across the entire kingdom had already begun in 779, with a series of ecclesiastical reforms introduced by a Benedictine monk, Benedict of Aniane (later beatified).

At the time of the death of the emperor his successor, Ludovick the Pious, assigned Benedict the task of regulating monastic life throughout the empire.

The emperor had a new monastery built for Benedict, in 814-817, Cornelimünster, in Inden, near Aachen, a structure which is considered by many scholars, after the Abbey of Centula, as a new prototype for the ideal Benedictine monastery. The plan of the main church is marked by a modular layout derived from the square (intersection, by a tripartite narthex, a choir added to the sanctuary and two semicircular apses placed to the east of each wing of the transept).

Again in the area of architecture, we can recall that the ideal scheme for a monastery, conserved today at San Gallo (see note below), was based on a rationalization which was also derived from the Benedictine rules (see: Boekelmann W, 'Die Wurzel der Sankt Galler Plankirche', in Zeitschrift für Kunstwissenschaft 6, 1952, S. 107-114 [Lehm].

[3] We can recall the fact that the removal, in 751, of King Childeric III by Pippin the Short was met with the prompt recognition of Pope Zacharias.

[4] There are only a few monuments from this era which remain wholly or partially intact today. The related studies are based, on the one hand, on the analysis of these edifices, and on the other on the results of archaeological excavations (beware of the conclusions of earlier studies) and of the documents of chroniclers of the period (such as the miniatures of Ariolfo of the abbey of St. Riquier, or the letters and plan for the ideal abbey, on parch-ment, of the Bishop Heito to the Abbot Gozbert of St. Gall, or the biography of Charlemagne by Einhard.

Several examples of Carolingian architecture

The official coronation of Pippin the Short as ruler of the Franks in 754, officiated by Pope Stephen II, marked a moment of change in the political mentality of the time, which was reflected in its architecture. A new basilica was constructed for the ceremony in St. Denis (754-775), replacing the existing Merovingian basilica.

The use of the typology of the Constantinian basilicas of Rome, that of the Saviour [5] and of San Pietro fuori le mura in particular, is a clear expression of recognition of the authority of the Pope. In the same church, the Pope granted the title of patritius romanorum to the two sons of Pippin, Carloman and Charles. The alliance obtained by Pippin between the Holy See and the Carolingian monarchy was thus sanctioned by the official recognition of the Carolingian dynasty in the eyes of Christiandom. In exchange, the Frankish sovereign offered military protection for the Holy See, and guaranteed the restitution of the lands taken from the Lombards (in particular, of Ravenna, along with the Northern Exarchate and eastern Emilia), thus marking the beginning of the State of the Church.

The new basilica incorporates certain particular structural features:

Fig. 2: Carolingian basilica of St. Denis [Braun].

- tripartate basilican plan;

- transept and immediately facing semicircular apse;

- tomb of the saint (St. Denis) placed in the circular crypt beneath the

main apse (here an important parallel should be noted with St. Peter's

in Rome which also featured, long before St. Denis, a ring-shaped

crypt constructed in 600 by the initiative of Pope Gregory I, based on

the model of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, completed in 547);

- small polygonal western apse (first eastern element) [6], where Pippin

was buried at the time of his death in 768;

- increase in the dignity of the entrance rather than one entrance, aligned with the central nave, two lateral entrances;

- lantern-tower at the intersection between the nave and the transept, with possible reference to the abbey of St. Martin at Tours (470) fig. 3 [Conant];

- addition, toward the end, of a narthex-portico enclosing the small apse, flanked by two small towers.

The new basilica is monumental, in contrast with the older Frankish churches with narrowed apses fig. 1 [7] (as in the first versions of the basilica of Fulda, or in the basilicas of Echternach, Reichenau and St. Emmeram in Regensburg).

In this work, the most important characteristics of Carolingian ecclesiastic architecture are already present:

- the basilica with three naves

- the transept

- the dual apse [8]

- the circular crypt

- the western block (Westwerk)

In the Abbey of Centula (fig. 4, 5), also known as St. Riquier (790-799), the basilicas of Rome served as models.

The basilica is clearly oriented. Its construction was the result of the initiative of the abbot Angilbert (a member of the court of Charlemagne), whose aim was to create an architectural prototype.

The western entrance is, once again, monumental and, with respect to St. Denis, the "Westwerk" is further developed. The complex is composed of three nuclei: the first is the basilica dedicated to St. Riquier; the second is the church of St. Benedict and the Abbots, and the third is a round church dedicated to the Virgin and the Apostles. The main church features, in succession, an atrium with three entrances: one in the centre, and two lateral entrances, topped by three towers with square bases, dedicated to the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, symbolically associated with the towers, which were placed toward the west as a form of protection (as it was believed that the forces of evil came from that direction).

Fig. 3: Tours. Abbey of St. Martin.Reconstruc-tion [Conant].

[5] known today as St. John Lateran.

[6] i.e. the same arrangement as San Pietro fuori le mura and San Salvatore in Laterano, in keeping with the stipulation in Roman liturgy that the priest celebrate the service facing the congregation, toward the east.

[7] The religious architecture of the Franks was originally designed for relatively small congregations. The Merovingian churches, like those built in the early Carolingian period, were based on simple typologies, on a small scale. These were usually hall-type churches with a modest quadrangular sanctuary, with semi-circular apses or with three grouped apses, as in the cases of St. John's in Münstair or St. Peter's in Mistail, both in Switzerland. This was typical of the spirit of isolation, based on questions of security, of the Frankish knights and the monks who lived in the structures.

Fig. 5: Basilica of Centula . Plan, indicating the sequence of the altars during a procession [Buticum].

The western block is turretted and flanked by two high towers containing the stairs. The entrance portico, where the founder of the basilica, Angilbert, is buried, is vaulted. The vestibule or narthex has columns, and constitutes a space for congregations or processions; in fact, it is a western transept. An altar and a baptismal font are positioned above a vast crypt. At the upper level stands the altar of the Saviour, with two lateral rostra. On the exterior, it is topped by the turris occidentalis. Inside the cylindrical tambour, Engelbert ordered the inscription of a celebration of God, Christ Saviour and Charlemagne, his earthly Vicar.

The emphasis on the cult of the Saviour is a reaction to the particular hi-

storical moment, in which superstition was widespread: the faithful tended to worship patron saints and miracle workers rather than the figure of Jesus Christ.

The chapel on the upper level was set aside for the emperor; in the middle of the central nave the altar of the cross was placed. Each of the lateral aisles contained three altars. The liturgy was processional (fig. 5), in keeping with the Benedictine rules; the altars in the naves, together with that of the Saviour (in the western transept) and those of the Cross and the Passion (in the central nave), of the Ascension and the Resurrection (in the eastern transept), and of St. Riquier (in the choir), formed the twelve stations of the cross.

The intersection of the eastern transept was covered by the turris orientalis, the twin of its western counterpart. This bipolar arrangement of the steeples is, again, similar to the reconstruction by Conant of St. Martin of Tours.

The sanctuary, surrounded by a deep choir [9], contained the altars of St. Peter and St. Riquier, and was flanked by two lateral towers.

The compositions of both the basilica and the abbey reflect the importance of the number three, representing the trinity. This can be seen, for example:

- in the triangular arrangement of the three edifices;

- in the three series of three towers;

- in the three principal towers (two of the main church and one of the church of the Virgin);

- in the three ciboria (three altars: St. Riquier, the Saviour, the Virgin).

The disposition of the two main altars, the two circular towers and the women's gallery can be compared, according to Heitz, to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (Martyrion and Anastasis).

The western block of St. Riquier was to be the model, transmitted by that of Corbie, for the church of Corvey on the Weser (addition of 873-885), whose Westwerk is still intact.

Figs. 6 and 7: Basilica of Corvey. Section and plan [Baustil].

Fig. 4: Basilica of Centula (St. Riquier): sche- me in elevation and plan [Buticum].

[8] The characteristic of the double apse can also be found at St. Maurice d'Agaune (787), in today's Valais (Switzerland). This was an antique church onto which a newer structure was added, incorporating a new tomb discove-red in the western part. This generated the we-stern apse; both the apses have polygonal exter-nal contours, of Byzantine origin; here, once again, it is possible to perceive a parallel with San Pietro in Rome, where there are two annular crypts with ambulatory, determining the higher level of the western apse.

The importance of Corvey, according to Conant, lies in the fact that it represents the first application, in the German part of the empire, of a choir with ambulatory and radial apses [10].

The basilica of Fulda (791-802) constitutes an even more direct reference to the typology of the Roman basilica, without any compositional modification such as that which occurred in the case of St. Riquier.

The explanation for this fact is historical in nature, because the region of Fulda was one of the first to recognise the authority of the Pope, and one was on the first regions of the empire to be missionized.

An important difference between Fulda and St. Riquier lies in the fact that the main apse is not to the east, but to the west, just as in the Roman models. The basilica is without Westwerk (the church of the 9th century has no towers. The eastern apse was later flanked by two towers, between 937 and 948). Finally, the transept has precisely the same size as that of San Pietro fuori le mura (77 m).

In 794 the emperor definitively established his residence, and that of the court, at Aachen. Two years earlier, in 792, Charlemagne had entrusted Bishop Odo of Metz, of the imperial court, with the task of designing and building the new complex, which was to include, apart from the royal palace, a law court and a palatine chapel. Einhard (also a member of the court, and later the biographer of the emperor) was appointed to supervise the work. The scheme of the complex was partially based on that of the Chrisotriclinion of Constantinople, built by order of Justin II. The edifice had noteworthy similarities to the Triclinion of the Lateran, built during the same period by order of Pope Leo III.

The complex is positioned diagonally, at a 38-degree angle with respect to the arrangement of the original Roman hot springs of Aquis (Aachen is Aquisgrana in Italian; Granus was the Celtic divinity of water). This positioning is a result of the orientation assumed by the apse of the palatine chapel, whose strongly geometric character determines the rigid orthogonality of the other elements.

The royal palace was probably based on a variety of models, the most important of which [Lehm] was the palatine court of Constantine in Trier (310), with a single apse. Mention should also be made of the Roman profane basilicas, especially that of Maxentius at the Forum, composed of a single space with three apses. The northern apse, as in the case of the palace in Aachen, contained the throne of the emperor [11].

The palatine chapel is preceded, on an axis with the entrance, by a monumental entryway leading to an atrium, internally defined by a two-storey four-sided portico. The western block has a central position with respect to the rotunda and the atrium.

Lehmann interprets this sequence as a metaphor for the Gate of the Holy City, with the atrium as an area of preparation, the western block as the Gate, and the internal central octagonal space as the Heavenly City of Jerusalem.

The western block is turretted and features a deep portico, above which there is a tribune, connected to the upper ambulatory, containing, to the west, the throne of the emperor, on a stepped base.

The structure is tripartite, as was the Westwerk at Centula.

There is a large niche in the facade, corresponding to the position of the tribune, where the emperor appeared on official occasions. This is similar, in form, to the Palazzo dell'Esarca in Ravenna. The central part of the block is flanked by two partially incorporated towers, which lead to the upper levels (here there is a very explicit reference to the narthex of San Vitale of Ravenna, 525-48).

On the upper level there is a chapel, where Charlemagne kept his personal collection of reliquaries.

[9] the first to appear among the Carolingian edifices.

Fig. 8: Basilica of Fulda. Plan [Baustil].

Fig. 9: Aachen. Plan of the imperial complex [Braun].

[10] Heitz refutes this thesis, pointing out that Halberstadt (which dates back to 865), not only features the apsidioles at the sides of the sanctuary, but also prefigures the entire scheme of the choir of Corvey. In the Germanic part of the empire this scheme did not undergo any other particular developments, whereas in France it was elaborated (and even prefigured) first in the basilica of St. Philibert de Grandlieu (836-837), and then in St. Germain d'Auxerre (late 8th - early 9th century) [Heitz], the latter with the characteristic double crypt.

[11] The reference to Constantine the Great recurs often in the architectural choices of the emperor and his court. Charlemagne wanted to rule in the manner of his Roman counterpart, with the safekeeping and propagation of Christianity as his mission.

The Westwerk

The western block, one of the dominant elements in Carolingian architecture, has a prevalently political significance, but with two aspects.

One involves the desire of the emperor to rule in the same manner as his powerful Byzantine counterparts (with the positioning of the throne in the tribune of the church itself: in the southern loggia in St. Sophia, and to the west in the cathedral of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, both in Constantinople). The other has to do with the placement of the throne, the symbol of the monarchy: the western loggia of the church, from which the sovereign was to 'reveal' himself to his subjects, was considered the zone of the Sacred Scriptures, and therefore the direction from which the revelation of the Lord would appear.

The Westwerk became the natural place for the celebration of rites on important feast days, such as Christmas or Easter (while, for example, Good Friday services were held in the longitudinal part of the church). At normal Sunday masses, the imperial loggia indicated the presence of the monarch, whether he was actually there or not. When the emperor did attend functions, he took his place in the Westwerk, the church of revelation, where he could be seen by all, the Lord's Vicar on Earth.

The models of Centula and Aachen (i.e. the Westwerk and the earlier tripartite turretted structure) became the primary references for all the western block solutions in the churches to follow in the Middle Ages [Lehm].

In the palatine chapel of Aachen the themes of late Roman classical architecture are combined with the typical workmanship of Merovingian art. This can be seen in the works in bronze, such as the large entrance door, or the eight parapets of the upper ambulatory.

The interior has an octagonal layout with ambulatory. Apart from San Vitale in Ravenna, mentioned above, other possible precursors for this structure are the octagonal cathedral with dual ambulatory of Constantine in Antioch [Strzy] (327, rebuilt after a fire by Constant II in 341, and definitively destroyed by an earthquake in 588 [Real]), or the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, built during the reign of Justinian (527), which has many similarities, in cross-section, to the rotunda of Aachen.

The church is built on two levels (the second significantly taller than the first, in a ratio of 2:5); further similarities to earlier structures can be observed in the Martyrion of Philip at Hierapolis (late 4th-early 5th c.), where the orders of arches are supported by a double capital; Lehmann also points out that there are similarities between the vaults of the ambulatories of the two edifices [Lehm].

The internal nucleus, whose plan measurements correspond exactly to those of the chapel of Sant'Aquilino (4th century) at San Lorenzo Maggiore in Milan, is extended upward by a tambour/lantern, topped by a cloister vault: the intrados is distinguished by a mosaic of Byzantine origin, depicting Christ the Saviour surrounded by symbols of the four evangelists, with the 24 elders below (scenes from the Apocalypse of St. John).

Fig. 10, 11, 12: Aachen. Palatine chapel. Section, plan of the first and second floors and elevation [Baustil].

Fig. 13: Aachen. Palatine chapel. Tile depicting Charlemagne as he presents the model of the edifice to the Madonna [Conant].

The internal octagon is composed of pilasters which divide into two toward the ambulatory, externally defined by a deca-hexagonal prism; each corner features a pilaster-strip which functions as an internal buttress.

The sanctuary is positioned inside an oriented quadrangular apse, opposite the throne, at the height of the upper ambulatory, evident from the exterior; it was replaced, in 1355, by the present large Gothic choir; again at the upper level, the subdivision of the spaces of the ambulatory is radial: the cardinal and diagonal spaces have barrel vaults, while the triangular spaces have diaphragm vaults.

The section reveals three overlapping orders of openings:

a) three-mullioned openings, sustained by double capitals;

b) round-headed arches, subdivided by two columns in axis with the lower supports;

c) openings in the lantern, corresponding to the central width of the small internal columns, and to the external openings of the ambulatory.

In the lower ambulatory the cardinal and diagonal spaces are cross-vaulted; the ambulatory is penetrated, to the west, by the entry portico; in axis, beneath the sanctuary on the upper level, another sanctuary, provides access (on both levels) to two twin basilican chapels, which are developed on the transverse axis of the palatine chapel.

According to Conant, the palatine chapel originated due to a strong sense of compartmentalization of space; we can imagine it containing various altars, as in a cemetary or mausoleum church.

Lehmann disagrees, sustaining that after Theodoric (the mausoleum of Ravenna dating back to 520), no other great medieval condottiere ordered the construction of his own mausoleum. The original wish of Charlemagne was to be buried at St. Denis. His burial at Aachen was the result of a decision of members of the court.

All of the later funerary churches were monastic churches, and therefore longitudinal. The central plan, as a typology for funerary chapels, even in the case of subsidiary structures, was never again employed during the Middle Ages, apart from very rare exceptions like the cemetary rotunda of St. Michael, with an annular crypt (tomb of the abbot Egil), above which a central octagonal space with ambulatory was erected (figs. 14 and 15), similar in type, though less complex, to the palatine chapel at Aachen. The typology reappears only later, during the Renaissance.

Finally, we would like to briefly discuss one other monument designed during the lifetime of Charlemagne: the oratory of Theodulf, at Germigny-des-Près (806).

The church, built by order of Theodulf, Bishop of Orleans (a Visigoth, from Septimania [Conant]), is markedly Byzantine and oriental in character, in part due to the typology utilised, and in part due to its small size.

Figs. 14 and 15: Fulda. Cemeterary church of St. Michael. Section and plan [Baustil].

[12] very similar, in its composition, to the mosaic in the cupola of the baptistery of St. John in Florence. Another parallel, but in terms of construction, between the Tuscan baptistery and the rotunda of Aachen was observed by, among others, G. De Angelis d'Ossat in the use of a roofing with flying arch vaults at the tribunes of the two edifices (De Angelis D' Ossat G., 'Il battistero di Firenze, la decorazione tardo romana e le modificazioni successive', in: Corsi di Cultura sull' Arte Ravennate e Bizantina, Ravenna, 1962, pp. 221-232, raccolto in Realtà dell' architettura, Carucci, Roma, 1982, Vol. I).

The author traces the foundation of the baptistery back to St. Ambrose (393). In reference to the teachings of St. Ambrose, the importance of the octagonal form, and the themes of the resurrection thus evoked, should be emphasised. In fact, while for the construc-tion (or reconstruction) of the baptistery of Florence columns and marble from an ancient pagan temple were utilised (which is thought to have been located in the nearby forum, today's Piazza della Repubblica), in Aachen these elements were actually imported from Rome or Ravenna, evidence of the will to create physical and symbolic continuity with the glories of the finest periods of the Occidental Roman Empire.

The church was restored during the second half of the 19th century. Excavations made during the 1930s have revealed lateral apsidioles, similar to Byzantine pastoforià, alongside the main apse. All the apses the three eastern apses and the three which extend from the remaining sides have the form of horseshoe arches, both in plan and in elevation.

The plan of Germigny is a very early example of the spread of this typology, especially in the Byzantine area. In Europe, this scheme was unprecedented until the construction of the oratory.

This same solution, in which the tetraconchate typology is applied to a small edifice, with a tripartite sanctuary, can be observed almost 200 years earlier, in Armenia, at Bagaràn, in 631 (figs. 18 and 19).

Another example, in Armenia, with striking similarities to the typology employed for the oratory of St. Germigny des Près is the cathedral of Etchmiadzìn, another tetraconchate structure with four free pilasters, with horseshoe arches for the apses and quadrangular, rather than round, lateral spaces. Another particular which connects the Carolingian monument to this Armenian predecessor can be seen in the roofing solution for the diagonal spaces, in which each space is topped by a small internally vaulted turret, precisely as in the original design for Edjmiadzìn (Thora-manian, cited by [Strzy]) see fig. 18 p. 116.

Another element in common with the church of Bagaràn is the tripartite sanctuary, although in the Armenian example the three apses are rounded inside and polygonal outside (rather than round, as in the Carolingian church). The tripartite solution of Germigny recurs in many earlier churches, for the most part from the time of Charlemagne, as in the case of the small hall-type church of St. Benedict in Malles (800) - (here again, the apses are in the form of a horseshoe arch) - or, as mentioned above, in the basilica of St. John in Münstair (790-800) and that of St. Peter in Mistail (where, instead, the arches are round-headed).

At this point it may be of interest to briefly retrace the cultural links between the Goths and the Armenians. A number of facts indicate close ties between these two peoples. Strzygowski reminds us that mass emigrations of Armenians took place across the Carpathians as a result of the Persian invasion of Armenia (571-572), and after the subdivision of the Armenian territory between the Byzantine and Persian empires in 591. Many Armenians had already settled, before this period, along the mouth of the Danube, a port area of vital importance for Armenian trade via the Black Sea. Later these Armenians moved westward, and toward the Italian peninsula in particular. Traces of this emigration can still be found, especially in Ravenna [13]. The Austrian scholar informs us that one of the master masons - a certain Daniel - who designed and constructed the mausoleum of the Emperor Theodoric in Ravenna, was of Armenian origin. A number of churches in northeastern Italy, sites of archaeological excavation toward the end of the last century, have a sanctuary whose structure is based on a typically Armenian design [14]: one example is the basilica of Parenzo [Strzy].

Figs. 16 and 17: Germigny des Prés. Oratory of Theodulf. Section [Strzy] and plan [Conant], after the restoration begun in 1867.

Figs. 18 and 19: Bagaràn. Section and plan [Strzy].

Finally, we can observe a number of parallels between Armenian and Carolingian illuminations. In particular, certain Armenian evangeliaries and canonical tables of the 9th century (for which the type of representa-tion has its forerunner, in some aspects, in the evangeliary of Etchmiadzìn, 6th century [Matena]), present what we feel are surprising similarities to a number of other evangeliaries created in the milieu of the court of Charlemagne toward the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th cen-tury, although these latter works have a greater compositional maturity which appears in the Armenian versions beginning, above all, with those of the 10th century.

To sum up the character of Carolingian architecture, we would like to conclude with the words of Conant:

"Thus, by the year 800, learning and legal system were being advanced again, and the monasteries, by addressing themselves to Rome's old task of administrative and economic development, were forming the ground-work on which any lasting renaissance perforce would rest. This society, which had been confused and peripheral, found its direction and its uni-fying principle; it made a synthesis of Germanic culture with traditional late Roman forms and persistent influences from Byzantine and Oriental lands, under the confident and energetic Charlemagne, whose coronation as Roman Emperor at Christmastide, 800, happily marks a symbolik new beginning".

Bibliography [Baustil] Koch, Wilfried: 'Baustilkunde', Mosaik, München, 1982; [Braun] Braunfels, Wolfgang: 'Karl der Grösse', Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verl., Reinbek b.H., 1972; [Buticum] Möbius, F., u. a.: 'Buticum in Centula: mit einer Einführung in die Bedeutung der mittelalterlichen Architektur', Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1985; [Conant] Conant, Kenneth John: 'Carolingian and romanesque architecture 800 to 1200', Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1959; [Gamb] Gamber, K.: 'Die Liturgie der Goten und der Armenier: Versuch einer Dar- stellung und Hinführung', Komm. Pustet, Regensburg, 1988; [Heitz] Heitz, Carol: 'L'architecture réligieuse carolingienne; les formes et leurs fonctions', Paris, Picard, 1980; [Jacob] Jacobsen, W.: 'Gab es die karolingische "Renaissance" in der Baukunst?' Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 51/3, 1988; [Lehm] Lehmann, Edgar: 'Die Architektur zur Zeit Karls des Grossen,' o. O., o. J.; [Lübke] Lübke, H.: 'Karl der Grosse', Ausstellungskatalog, Aachen, 1965; [Matena] Ghazarian, V. Manukian, S.: 'Matenadaran', Kniga, Moskow, 1991; [Real] AA. VV.: 'Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst', Unter Mitw. von Marcell Restle Stuttgart : Hiersemann, 1966- Bände 1 bis 4; [Strzy] Strzygowski, Josef: 'Die Baukunst der Armenier und Europa', Schroll, Wien, 1918, 2 Bände; [UTET] AA.VV. : 'Grande Dizionario Enciclopedico', voce: Arte Carolingia, Torino, UTET, 1984-1993.

Fig. 20: Germigny des Près. Detail of the dou- ble columns near the apse [Strzy].

[13] we can also mention the names of two exarchs of Ravenna of Armenian origin: Narse-te (Nerses, 541-568) and Isaccio (Sahàg, 624-644). The latter is commemorated in an epi-graph inside San Vitale (Casnati, G., 'Presenze armene in Italia. Testimonianze storiche ed architettoniche', in: AA. VV.: 'Gli Armeni in Italia', De Luca, Roma, 1990).

[14] i.e. a bema raised with respect to the nave, flanked by two symmetrical flights of narrow steps, finishing in a semi-circular apse, polygonal on the exterior, with five sides.

[15] Leo V, 813-820. Leo III, the main exponent of iconoclasm, is said to have come from Ger-manikia, in Commagenia, a territory bordering Cilicia and Armenia.

[16] the cultural heritage of the Armenians from the oriental religions of idol-worship (see the article on the birth of religious architecture in Armenia), together with the pursuit of a national identity (mid 4th c. AD), which led to an attempt to avoid Greek cultural influence, and combined, finally, with the influence of Islamic art, determined an absence of representational forms for the divinity in the Armenian cultural background.

Note: the original version of this article was written in italian and translated by Stephen Piccolo, Milan.