The parish church of San Giorgio di Valpolicella, also known as the parish church of San Giorgio Ingannapoltron,The name "Ingannapoltron," which probably arose from the 15th century onward, derives from the long climb required to reach the village and its location in an area rich in quarries, called ganna. In Bolla, p. 15. is an ancient Catholic place of worship located in San Giorgio di Valpolicella, a hamlet of Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella, in the province and diocese of Verona; it is also the seat of the parish of the same name included in the vicariate of Valpolicella.
Probably built on a site previously used for pagan worship dating back to the 8th century (according to some historians perhaps as far back as the 7th), the present religious building represents one of the most interesting and ancient examples of Romanesque architecture found in the province of Verona.Luigi Simeoni states that it is the oldest church in the Verona area, both because of the presence of a ciborium dated 712 and because of its early orientation with the facade facing east. In Simeoni, p. 381
Largely rebuilt around the 11th century, the parish church of San Giorgio was at the head of one of the three "piovadeghi" into which Valpolicella was administratively divided; along with it, the parish churches of San Floriano and Negrar also held this role.There was also a parish in Arbizzano but it did not play such an important role as to have its own piovadego. It was also a collegiate church, the seat of a chapter of canons who also ran a schola iuniorum (i.e., a school in which the first notions of Latin grammar were taught to local boys, from among whom new clerics were often chosen).
In addition to the interesting architectural structure, the adjacent cloister and the frescoes inside, of great value is an ancient ciborium that has inscriptions placing it in the middle of the Lombard era, specifically in the period of Liutprand's reign.
History
Early traces of settlements Archaeological excavations, carried out on St. George's Hill between 1985 and 1989, have uncovered finds that attest to the presence of human settlements since ancient times. In particular, in addition to a rectangular hut belonging to the Bronze Age, other later structures dating back to the 4th century B.C. were found; all these buildings are in the shape of a "Rhaetian house," typical of the Alpine and subalpine territories. The inhabitants of this village practiced essentially agriculture and animal husbandry and are considered the ancestors of the Arusnates, a population that would settle in Valpolicella during the Roman period.
On display in the cloister are a number of finds from the Roman period, dating from between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., such as a sarcophagus consisting of a monolith made of red Verona marble, a well, column remains, and a capital decorated with plant friezes and other unidentifiable ashlars. Smaller artifacts, such as votive offerings to pagan gods, stelae, terracotta figurines, and Roman inscriptions, are kept in the small museum attached to the church or in the Maffeian lapidary in Verona. These artifacts, being mostly dedicated to deities such as Fortuna, Vesta, Sol and Luna, testify to the importance that San Giorgio had, as a place of worship, since the time of the Arusnates. A fragment of a plaque bearing the inscription "LVALDE," the name of the goddess Lualda, which would recall that of the deity Lua, associated, in the Roman pantheon, with Saturn and regarded as the protector of agriculture, has been walled up on the back of the church.
Lombard place of worship
Although characterized by modest settlements (the few artifacts found attest to this), in the Middle Ages the area of San Giorgio was certainly an important religious center. At that time it was elevated, in fact, to the rank of "parish church," thus obtaining various prerogatives such as the right to baptize, train clerics, and collect tithes.
The current eastward orientation of the facade and especially the inscriptions on the two small columns of the ciborium, preserved inside the church, suggest that the Catholic building arose on a pre-existing place of worship built in the Lombard age. In fact, the construction of these is dated to the reign of Liutprand (712-744), although some historians place its foundation in the 7th century. In the latter case, it could be assumed that San Giorgio was a pagan place of worship, since the Lombards converted to Christianity only toward the end of the 7th century.The entire populace became, at least nominally, Catholic by the end of the reign of Cunipert (who died in 700), and his successors (above all, Liutprand) consciously leveraged the religious (Catholic) unity of Lombards and Romanics to reassert their role as rex totius Italiae. In Rovagnati, p. 64.
As evidence of the Lombard period, in addition to the already mentioned ciborium, it is assumed that the facade wall also remains. Analysis of the latter has suggested that at that time the plan of the building must have had an almost square shape facing east.These findings were made by Alessandro Da Lisca during his restoration. In Silvestri, p. 92.
In addition to the sacellum, there was a Lombard castle in San Giorgio, placed at the head of a sculdasia, i.e. a minor district within the duchies, which had extensive administrative, military and jurisdictional powers.
The Christian church in the early Middle Ages The earliest evidence of San Giorgio as a Christian building dates back to the 12th century, and more specifically, there is a trace of it in a papal bull of Pope Eugene III dated 1145. However, it is very likely that already following the earthquake of 1117 it may have undergone work and restoration that led to its transformation from a pagan building to a Christian place of worship in the Romanesque style. The characteristic plan with three apses is also similar to other Italian places of worship that arose between the 10th and 12th centuries.
One legend has it that the parish church of San Giorgio, along with those of San Martino in Negrar and San Floriano, was commissioned by Queen Matilda Cristina Malaspina in 1101, but there is no historical evidence to support this thesis.
From the earliest years after the construction of the present building, the parish church of San Giorgio was the seat of a parish to which a collegiate of priests was attached, as evidenced by the small rectory present. These had opened there a schola iuniorum for the early education of boys. Pope Eugene III, in the aforementioned papal bull, records, "Plebem S. Georgii cum capellis et decimis et familiis et dimidia curte."
The baptismal font, located on the left side of the building, dates back to the early 12th century. The church frescoes, worn by time, are of later date and can be dated to the end of the same century. The bell tower is more recent, perhaps built on the basis of an existing one.
Between the 15th and 16th centuries the old apse present along the western elevation was pierced, where a new entrance portal with a pointed arch was opened.
Throughout the late Middle Ages the church of San Giorgio was at the head of one of the piovadeghi into which the Valpolicella was divided. Each of these wards orbited around a parish that represented its center. Of slightly later date than San Giorgio are the parish of San Floriano and the parish of Negrar.
Studies and restorations
The parish church of San Giorgio has aroused interest in scholars since the seventeenth century,The small column with the inscription naming Liutprand is already mentioned in some writings of scholars of this century. and particularly in Scipione Maffei, who took the two columns of the ciborium and some Roman inscriptions to enrich his Veronese lapidary museum.
In the nineteenth century numerous accurate studies about the plan of San Giorgio were undertaken by Girolamo Orti Manara; he had, among other things, the merit of finding the ciborium column bearing the inscription "In nomine Domini...".
Between 1923 and 1924, the parish church underwent restorations by architect Alessandro Da Lisca. These works led, in addition to the reconstruction of the ciborium, to the rebuilding of the roof and the modification of some of the windows on the walls. In the 1960s, additional stone artifacts dating back to Roman times were unearthed near the rectory.
Between 1985 and 1994 some archaeological excavations were carried out outside the church, near the triapsidal facade: here some gabled dwellings from the Iron Age and a metalworking workshop were found. This provided the opportunity for the construction of a visitor's route and the archaeological museum, designed by architect Libero Cecchini. The same architect designed, between 2006 and 2007, a new stone portal whose opening is by electric automation and which replaced the previous wooden portal on the western facade.
Description
Construction stages The numerous investigations carried out on the structure of the parish church have led to several theories regarding the dating of the complex. In particular, the probable mixing of elements of the original Lombard building with those of the more modern Christian building has created a degree of uncertainty in the reconstruction of the building phases that followed one another over the centuries.
According to the expositions of scholar Wart Arslan and historian Pietro Toesca, considering the perfectly equal height of all the interior arches and the uniformity of the perimeter masonry, this building can be thought to derive (like many others that arose in Italy between the 10th century and the 11th century) from the Ottonian and Carolingian biapsidal churches of the 8th and 9th centuries, such as Saint-Riquier Abbey in Normandy, Fulda Abbey, Obermünster Abbey in Regensburg, Worms Cathedral, and many others. This theory was a major contributor to the dating of the Christian parish.Wart Arslan concludes his exposition with these words, "If our hypothesis is correct the San Giorgio di Valpolicella would thus attest to a reflux, an unlikely point along the valley of the Adige, at the outlet of which is this village, a witness of ancient Italic culture, of a powerful vein of German art; of that art which, in turn, was to receive so much later by the same route. Indeed, even the old cathedral of Brixen had a biabsid plan. And one would not know how to place San Giorgio otherwise than in the 11th century, for all that is echoed in it, for all that it heralds."
Of a different opinion are the historians Cipolla, Cattaneo, Mothes and Simeoni, who hypothesize two different building phases. Of the former, the part located on the western side of the complex would remain as the only remnant, thus representing a rare example of a Lombard basilica, while the triapsidal eastern part would be considered more recent (between the 9th and 12th centuries). In this case, moreover, it is hypothesized that the church was initially oriented in the opposite direction from today. The building would then extend to the present inner step, where the bell tower would later be built. Later, the church would be expanded with a three-apse facade, and consequently would incorporate the bell tower.
However, it is not possible to determine precisely which part of the building is of Lombard origin and which is of later origin. The use of identical material and rudimentary construction methods make attempts to identify the differences between the two parts complicated. The most visible dissimilarities, however, between the western and eastern areas are two: the substitution of columns for pillars and the elevation of the floor at the beginning of the part with columns. Also important in this regard is the fact that the largest number of Roman tombstones is distributed along the eastern wall of the church.
Exterior