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[Regions of Italy] 
[Back to Byzantine Italy]
Generally speaking, the Byzantine monuments you'll encounter in your travels are located near the eastern seacoast and in the major cities. Some of them are made even more striking and authentic by the quiet rural settings that surround them. Here are a few of our favorites, many of which date from the second great Byzantine period of the 11th to early 15th centuries:
Abruzzo
| In Sulmona, the 11th-century cathedral of San Panfilo has a magnificent Byzantine-style relief of the Madonna in the crypt. |  |
Apulia
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In the area around the town of Massafra are located several rural crypts and shrines decorated with proto-Christian frescoes and surrounded by hillside caves where the monks formerly sorted their medicinal herbs; often they survived here by lowering baskets to charitable passersby. The most stunning sanctuary is Santa Maria della Scala, a gleaming white jewel carved into the cave-lined hills. Reached by descending a 125-step baroque staircase, it has beautiful Byzantine decorations. |
Molise
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Near Castel San Vincenzo, in an unforgettable high plain setting surrounded by rockbound hills, snowcapped mountains and luxuriant evergreen forests, you will find a jewel-like lake, a beautifully restored Benedictine abbey and 9th-century hill town which scholars have likened to the monastery described by Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose. Take the guided tour through the Carolingian abbey, to see the only complete early 8th-century fresco cycle ever painted in Europe by Byzantine artists. |
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Basilicata
I Sassi di Matera, the eerie cave dwellings we wrote about in our November-December, 1997 issue, are often decorated with exquisite Byzantine mosaics and frescoes.
Calabria
Surprisingly, this region is a real Byzantine treasure trove.
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In Rossano, the 11th-century church of San Marco, defiantly perched on its own outcrop, is a mystical masterpiece, one of the great Byzantine monuments in southern Italy. |
Vibo Valentia, an ancient Calabrian city that has begrudgingly hosted Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Normans and Bourbons, is home to the Byzantine temple of S. Ruba.
In the picturesque hill town of Bivongi stroll down the narrow streets, under archways and past high stone walls to the 11th-century church of San Giovanni Theresti, considered a masterpiece of Norman-Byzantine art.
Nearby Stilo is a fairly well preserved village whose main attraction is the Byzantine Cattolica, thought to have been built either in the 7th or the 10th century. Its elegant red brick façade, topped by four cylindrical cupolas, is visible from afar as you climb the slopes of Mt. Consolino. Inside, the church is small, austere and extremely mystical.
| Gerace is one of the most interesting towns in southern Italy. It has a grandiose 12th -century castle, an absolutely breathtaking 11th-century cathedral, and three Byzantine churches (S. Giovanello, S. Maria del Maestro and S. Maria del Monserrato). |  |
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Frascineto is a town which takes great pride in its Albanian heritage. Everything in town is written in two languages, and all the local residents will be happy to tell you about their ancestors, who came here in two waves, first in 1448 as mercenaries, and then in the 1500s to escape Turkish invasions. Perched on the edge of the picturesque Pollino National Park, Frascineto offers spectacular views of snow-capped mountains, as well as a remarkable museum housing over 250 Byzantine icons. The earliest of these, dating back to the 1500s, were brought here by the Albanians. The Museum of Byzantine Icons and Tradition is located on Piazza Albania, tel. (0981) 32688, open Monday-Friday 10:30 am-1:30pm and 4-7pm. |
Friuli
Aquileia, founded in 181 BC, eventually grew to have upwards of 100,000 inhabitants and was second in importance only to Rome. Its place was supplanted only after the emperors discovered Ravenna. The basilica preserves western Europe's finest early Christian mosaics in the form of an unforgettable 700-square-yard pavement. And be sure to visit the stunning Byzantine frescoes in the crypt.
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Only a few miles away is Sesto al Reghena, a medieval village which grew up within the fortified walls of the Santa Maria in Sylvis Abbey. The hamlet eventually expanded, with the amusing result that there is now a moat and so-called " drawbridge" in the center of town. Within the walls you'll find a surprisingly integral 9th-to 12th-century village, radiating out from the original abbey buildings and watchtower. The basilica is a wonderful mixture of late Roman, Lombard and Byzantine architecture. |
Lombardy
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One of Milan's most beloved landmarks, Sant'Ambrogio, has lovely 5th-century mosaics in the 4th-century Sacello di San Vittore in Ciel D'Oro. Another symbol of the city, San Lorenzo Maggiore, has a floor plan reminiscent of San Vitale's; the chapel of Sant'Aquillino is decorated with beautiful 4th-century mosaics. |
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Marches
Ancona's busy harbor is guarded by the exquisite Byzantine-Lombard-Gothic church of San Ciriaco.
Sicily
Siracusa was actually the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire for five very bizarre years from 663 to 668 AD. Remaining from that period are the bathhouse in Akradina, the necropolis of Ortygia Island, some faded frescoes in the crypt of the church of Santa Lucia and a few chambers in Euryalus Castle.
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Cefalu's cathedral is a Norman building, commissioned by Roger II in 1131. Popular legend says the future king gave it in gratitude for having been saved at sea, but the truth is probably that he chose this site, halfway between Palermo and Messina, as a buffer zone between the Byzantines and the Arabs, both of whom had claims on the island. Inside the church, the presbytery is entirely covered with Byzantine mosaics. They include what are widely considered to be the most graceful mosaic portraits anywhere of Christ and the Virgin. |
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In Palermo, the Palatine Chapel mosaics fit nicely into the period between Cefalu's mosaics and those at Monreale. Created by highly skilled Byzantine artists, they show stories of Saints Peter and Paul along the aisle, Episodes from the Old Testament in the nave, Christ Pantocrator with Angels and Archangels in the dome, Prophets, Saints and Evangelists in the drum and moldings, and Christ Giving the Blessing in the apse.
Umbria
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Spoleto's cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is unforgettable, with its terra cotta-paved piazza, symmetrical bell tower and golden Byzantine mosaic. |
[In Italy Online - Byzantine Italy]