An Initiatory Experience? The Doors and the Narrative Cycle of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, 386 CE

FOLETTI, Ivan. An Initiatory Experience? The Doors and the Narrative Cycle of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, 386 CE. In Imperial Capital and Christian Metropolis. 2021.

Basic information

• Original name: An Initiatory Experience? The Doors and the Narrative Cycle of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, 386 CE
• Authors: FOLETTI, Ivan.
• Edition: Imperial Capital and Christian Metropolis, 2021.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Requested lectures
• Field of Study: 60400 6.4 Arts
• Country of publisher: Germany
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: Narrative cycle; Doors of Sant'Ambrogio; Christian Initiation; Ambrose.

Abstract

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.

Links

• MUNI/A/1504/2020, interní kód MU: Name: Je (středověk) doba temna?

Investor: Masaryk University