Publication details
The marvellous Hierotopy of the golden altar in Milan : A visual Constantinopolitan fascination?
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The golden altar of Milan is one of the most impressive monuments of the early medieval period. Decorated on its four sides, covered by golden and silver leaf, it was a clear expression of Carolingian power in Northern Italy. In its liturgical context, however, the altar must have been a marvellous epicentre of the hierotopy of the Basilica of St. Ambrose: used from all four sides, it was a precious mirror of light and of the presence for the clergy allowed to approach it. For the “common viewer” in the nave, the situation was different. Invisible in its tiny details, covered by precious stones, it would have been perceived as a giant aniconic reliquary, decorated with crosses. From this point of view, therefore, the visual aesthetic was in fact not only aniconic, but also very close to what we know about the visual patterns developed in Constantinople from the reign of Justinian to the period of the “struggle about images”. During the bishopric of Angilbert II (824-859), the patron of the altar, Milan had a strong connection with Byzantium. The aniconic Hagia Sophia was therefore certainly known from the descriptions of travellers and ambassadors. It seems therefore that Angilbert II must have been seduced by the descriptions of the aesthetic elegance of the aniconic decorations and by the prestige of Constantinople. |