The crypt, located on the lower floor of the basilica, from the Romanesque period (X-XI century), has naves of equal height, with cross vaults. The crypt is divided into three transverse and nine longitudinal naves. Located under the transept and apse of the church above, with its 24 columns, it has nine small naves with ribbed cross vaults, which form a characteristic T.
Info: Toll-free number: 800-411834
torrejulia@tiscali.it www.laperegina.it
Municipality of Acquapendente Tourist Office: 0763 7309206; turismo@comuneacquapendente.it
Parish: 0763/734200
CRYPT OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER
HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION
A legend is at the basis of the foundation of the church and of the crypt of the Holy Sepulcher of Acquapendente. A queen named Matilda (variously interpreted with Matilda of Scotland, or Matilda of Westfalia) in an unspecified time, was in Acquapendente on her way to Rome, with many mules loaded with gold to build in the holy city a church dedicated to the Holy Sepulcher. Arriving in front of the Roman gate, her mules refused to continue, even kneeling. In the evening a vision enlightened the queen, convincing her to have a church built right at that point where the mules had stopped, to house the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. The first real testimony of the church we find in 1091, in a document, and precisely a donation made by Malnierro Visconti of Marseille of many assets, addressed to Domino Deo et Gloriosissimo eius Sepulchro Iherusalem et Acquependentis. Tradition has it that after conquering Jerusalem, some crusader knights brought here two small stones containing the stains of the Blood of Christ, coming from the praetorium of Pontius Pilate. Legend and history thus find themselves walking on parallel tracks, united by a thin thread to reality. In any case, a first phase of the construction of the church obviously connected to the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem fits perfectly into the widespread use in the West starting from the 9th century of building temples or aedicules in memory or imitation of the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. . The crypt, located on the lower floor of the basilica, from the Romanesque period (X-XI century), has naves of equal height, with cross vaults. Of the first phase of the original construction of the crypt, only the capitals defined as “barbaric expressiveness” remain, decorated with a human face closed by two leaves and surmounted by a high pulvinus. What we see today is the result of the restoration of the pre-existing building, which can be defined as a second phase of the building officially consecrated by Pope Eugene III in May 1149. The crypt is divided into three transverse and nine longitudinal naves. . The apse is very deep with a presbytery in front of three spans wide and two deep. The architectural elements that characterize it are the capitals and columns, elements that were reused as waste material from the first construction phase. The capitals are presented with zoomorphic, phytomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs, and are decorated with a great variety and alternation of figures such as birds, ram and bull heads and two-tailed mermaids. The crypt of the Holy Sepulcher of Acquapendente, due to the arrangement of the columns and arches, is one of the most important examples of its kind. Located under the transept and apse of the church above, with its 24 columns, it has nine small naves with ribbed cross vaults, which form a characteristic T in plan. At the center of the crypt, a simple altar. A double staircase carved into the stone allows you to reach the chapel that houses the relics of the Praetorium Hall of Jerusalem: these are the stones that, according to tradition, would have been bathed in the blood of Christ during the Passion, as evidenced by a Latin inscription placed in front at the opening of the chapel. The Sacred Sacellum in the shape of a rectangular pyramid, is built in imitation of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. The crypt was built in such a way that the upper part of the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher emerged and was visible through an opening in the vaults, in the area in front of the apse of the church above. All this to allow the faithful passing through the church to see the chapel and keep the symbolism of the Passion and death of Jesus constant. A small chapel adjacent to the crypt housed a fragment of the column of the flagellation, and led to some steps, symbol of the Holy Stairs and to the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. In the left arm of the crypt there are two frescoes. One fragment depicting the Nativity, the other with God the Father between the sun and the moon and Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Michael the Archangel from the second half of the fourteenth century. On the left wall of the passage leading to the left chapel of the crypt we find a fragment of a fresco dating back to the 15th century, with the depiction of Saint Lucia. On 12 December 1894, with an act of the Ministry of Education, the crypt of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher was declared a national monument.
ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
AA.VV, Acquapendente e il suo territorio. Regione Lazio, Assessorato alla Cultura, Spettacolo, Sport e Turismo. Direzione regionale cultura, sport e turismo, area valorizzazione del territorio e del patrimonio culturale. Avellino 2004.
Agostini, Le chiese di Acquapendente, Acquapendente 1987;
Biondi P., Le origini del comune di Acquapendente e la Madonna del Fiore, Acquapendente 1966;
Costantini N., Memorie storiche di Acquapendente, Acquapendente 1982;
Lise G., Acquapendente. Storia. Arte. Figure. Tradizioni, Acquapendente 1971.
Ruspantini M., La basilica del Santo Sepolcro di Acquapendente e il il sacello del Santo Sepolcro esistente nella sua cripta, in Elm K. – Damiano Fonseca C. (a cura di), Militia Sancti Sepulcri. Idea e istituzioni, Città del Vaticano, 1998.
Rossi M., Cenni storici di Acquapendente. Viterbo 1989.
Pietro Paolo Biondi, Le Croniche di Acquapendente. Descrizione della terra d’Acquapendente con la sua antiquità, nobiltà, governo, usanze ed altre cose (ed. a stampa del manoscritto ddl 1588) Acquapendente 1984.
Le opere d’arte della chiesa del Santo Sepolcro di Acquapendente sono state catalogate sui modelli inventariali nel 1993 dalla Soprintendenza BAS di Roma (Catalogratrice A. Capriotti); le schede sono state revisionate nel 2003 da P. Grassi per la Regione Lazio.
Fossati P. M., La basilica del Santo Sepolcro, Fossati, Acquapendente 1991.
Fasolo O., Le fasi della costruzione della cattedrale di Acquapendente. In Atti del convegno nazionale di storia dell’architettura (Perugia 1948), Firenze 1056.
Costantini N., Memorie storiche di Acquapendente. Acquapendente 1982.
Chiovelli R., Dalle rovine della guerra di Castro alla rinascita settecentesca, in Chiovelli R. Mengalli M. A. L., Guglielmo Melluzzi architetto di Acquapendente post unitaria. Acquapendente 2003.
Acquapendente città d’arte, cripta del Santo Sepolcro.
