- published: 13 Sep 2015
- views: 12445
Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern comune of Castelseprio, near the modern village of the same name. It is in the extreme north of Italy, in the Province of Varese.
The fame of Castelseprio lies in the Early Medieval frescoes contained in the small Church of Santa Maria foris portas . These frescoes are of exceptional rarity and artistic significance. Hidden for centuries, the frescoes were only rediscovered in 1944. In 2011, the church - and the castrum with the Torba Tower - became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.).
In 2006, the Italian Ministry of Culture in a submission to UNESCO, said:
The frescoes decorating the central apse of the church of Santa Maria foris portas constitute the finest early medieval pictorial cycle in terms of artistic quality, and are considered unique in early medieval European art.
You left your black gloves on my table
You left your dying horse in the stable
Thinking of a way to get you to stay
And up I was to fight the wind and waves for you
I?m an owl with giant eyes
I?m the scarecrow in the skies
The ultimate goal out facing the north
I wanted to stay inside and look down below with you
You never said then when I was in your arms
That was the moment that you lost your charm
[Incomprehensible]
And the trees, they never grew any leaves
Shake my arms, shake my head
I fell asleep when you got well
And I?m turning for the lights tonight