San Michele Arcangelo, Ausonia

Last updated February 20, 2019

San Michele Arcangelo is a romanesque style, Roman Catholic church in the town of Ausonia, province of Frosinone, region of Lazio, Italy.

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later date being the most commonly held. In the 12th century it developed into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches. Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.

Ausonia is a town and comune in southern Lazio, central Italy. It takes its name from the Ausones/Aurunci, whose ancient town Ausona, located nearby, was destroyed by the Romans in 314 BC. In the Middle Ages it was known as Fratte.

The Province of Frosinone is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 comuni. Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of 3,247 square kilometres (1,254 sq mi) and a total population of 493,605 (2016).

History

San Michele is the main church of the town, and as its name would suggest, it is sited at the summit of a hill, the highest point in town. St Michael Archangel is the patron saint of high places. Made of white stone, the church was built during the end of the 12th to the early 13th century at the site of a former Roman temple dedicated to the cult of Hercules. A number of pillars with pagan themes, including the myth of Leda and the Swan were used as spolia in construction. At the entrance are two Roman urns used as holy water receptacles. [1]

Hercules is a Roman hero and god. He was the equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.

Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces the mortal woman Leda. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. In the W. B. Yeats version, it is subtly suggested that Clytemnestra, although being the daughter of Tyndareus, has somehow been traumatized by what the swan has done to her mother. According to many versions of the story, Zeus took the form of a swan and seduced Leda on the same night she slept with her husband King Tyndareus. In some versions, she laid two eggs from which the children hatched. In other versions, Helen is a daughter of Nemesis, the goddess who personified the disaster that awaited those suffering from the pride of Hubris.

Spolia, repurposed building stone for new construction, or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments, is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut, and used in a built structure, is carried away to be used elsewhere. The practice is of particular interest to historians, archaeologists and architectural historians since the gravestones, monuments and architectural fragments of antiquity are frequently found embedded in structures built centuries or millennia later.

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References

↑ Comune of Ausonia, entry on church.

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[1] Comune of Ausonia, entry on church.