Romanesque and its Reception

The historiography of art ascribes the name Romanesque to the artistic revival - architectural, sculptural and pictorial - observable from the 11th century onwards in various regions of Europe. After the year 1000, with the Reform of the Church, mighty abbeys arose (Cluny) and new pilgrimage centres were founded (Santiago de Compostela). In addition, the rebirth of cities led to the construction of monumental cathedrals, which partly replaced the more modest early Christian or early medieval cult buildings. New construction and roofing techniques were also experimented with - with groin or barrel vaults - and sculpture became the favoured artistic medium. During the course some of the most important buildings of the European Romanesque period will be analysed, special attention will be paid to the regional variations of the Romanesque style in Lombardy, Emilia, Pisa, Apulia and Sicily and to the protagonists of individual building sites (such as Lanfranco, Wiligelmo, Nicolò or Benedetto Antelami) and will trace the critical and architectural fortune of the Romanesque as an object of restoration and formal reference for 19th and 20th century architects (Heinrich Hübsch, Camillo Boito, Le Corbusier, Mario Botta and Peter Märkli).

The programme includes a site visit to the Church of Sant'Abbondio in Como. The date will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

The course takes an in-depth look at a selection of medieval buildings, constructed between c. 1000 and 1200, and offers a reflection on their reception as aesthetic models during the 19th and 20th centuries.

In presence

40% lectures
40% seminar discussions
20% text readings

50% Presentation of an in-depth study during the course or at the oral exam

50% Oral exam (readings and topics treated in the course)

• Como, 11.10.25 - 11.10.25 (Optional)