BERGAMO – Chiesa di San Pancrazio

BERGAMO – Chiesa di San Pancrazio, 9th-century – the beautiful ogival arch above the entry door. Although the church is dated to 888 this arch is dated to the 14th-century. I LOVE this!! The church is small, non-descript and not ornate save for this ‘portone’ and, hence, easily missed since it does not face the road and is tucked slightly down an alley. But I hope if you visit Bergamo you will stop to admire this beautiful and complex work of art! The fresco section of the ogival arch over the front entry door shows the symbol of the Trinity in the center with San Sebastiano (256-288) to the left – seen tied to a stake mostly unclothed with arrows protruding from his body – and a Franciscan monk to the right. Based on the depiction this could be Sant’Antonio di Padova (1195-1231) since the saint is shown holding a sacred text. But one, also, could reasonably argue that this is San Rocco – who was a Franciscan and is very often depicted with San Sebastiano in Lombardy during this time period. Even though San Rocco is not shown with his dog and loaf of bread, and pointing to his plague boil as one is used to seeing him in art, he, also, is depicted plainly in his monk’s robes. Other possible Franciscans are San Francesco or San Bonaventura based on the time period and given that the imagery is no longer clear having eroded over time. (Personally, based on all the Lombardians fescoes and artwork that I have seen in cities and churches in all the towns to which I have traveled, I think this is St Sebastian and St Rocco.) The common symbolic depiction of the Trinity is clearly shown – God the Father holds a crucified Christ above whose head floats the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.The carved relief shows San Pancrazio (289-304) to Mary’s right – as would be expected since the dedicatory saint is often depicted in the external imagery of the church and because one sees the young saint with the instrument of his martyrdom – a sword – and the palm frond which is the symbol of Christian martyrdom. To Mary’s left is an ordained member of the church hierarchy wearing a formal cassock and a mitre, holding a crosier and offering a blessing – the hand gesture or chironomia symbolizes a benediction. This is very likely the then Bishop of Como who would be the one to dedicate and bless the church and any architectural or artistic updates. An accurate date for the creation of this portal artwork is needed for an exact identification.I generally check numerous Italian internet sites and Italian Wikipedia when discussing churches for their description of artwork and dates. Because I found the information on this arch to be both incomplete and incorrect on the Italian Wikipedia, I added the above description to it – sans my personal comment – and loaded this photo. I wonder if someone will approve my addition – which was done in English – and translate it, save my photo for the site and publish both. I hope so! Here is the current Italian Wikipedia description: “L’ingresso della chiesa, con il portale trecentesco ad arco ogivale in pietra grigia, dove all’interno sono scolpiti ad altorilievo san Pancrazio, la Madonna col Bambino, un vescovo benedicente e nel lunotto sovrastante l’immagine del Padre Eterno che regge Cristo crocifisso dà sulla piazzetta di San Pancrazio dove domina la piccolo fontana si San Pancrazio detta boccio di giacinto del 1549.”Photo taken Feb 9, 2020 at 19:00 Bergamo time

BERGAMO – via San Pancrazio – The church and the fountain of San Pancrazio. The fountain is also known as the  ‘boccio di giacinto’ – the hyacinth bud – because of its shape. The fountain was installed in 1549. The artist Leonardo Cleri created the fountain. Leonardo is the son of the better known Pietro Isabello (1484-1549) – an architect from the Valsassina in the province of Lecco who lived and worked in Bergamo.