Publication details
An Initiatory Experience? The Doors and the Narrative Cycle of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, 386 CE
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
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| Description | The paper propose a reflection on the relationship between Christian initiation and penitence and Milan, space and objects. The underlying inquiry will try to establish if we can outline an Ambrosian “image policy” in this area. Whether or not to proceed if we seemingly have no elements of material culture to put in dialogue with the ritual practice documented in the texts remains an open question. It is my belief, as I will attempt to demonstrate below, that a well-known Milanese monument can be associated with initiatory and penitential rites carried out in the city. Furthermore, an impressive group of images that are now lost, but known from the sources, can help us complete the picture. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first, I will offer a reflection on the entrance spaces to the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio from a penitential and initiatory point of view. This is followed by a fresh look at the the well-known narrative cycle that decorated the Basilica Martyrum at the time of Ambrose. |
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