User:Natarizza/Santa Margherita

The church of Santa Margherita is a place of Roman Catholic worship in Bisceglie, built in the 12th century outside the city walls, in street Margherita Street.

HISTORY of the CHURCH
The year of construction of the church, supported by an ancient document[1], dates back to the year 1197.

The small temple, dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch, is a "sign of gratitude" by its founder, Falco, judge of the Imperial Curia, a prestigious role that will be played by characters such as Pier della Vigna or Taddeo di Sessa.

This monument, very rare in terms of preservation, so much so that it remains untouched over the centuries, was originally lying on a fenced ground, even if it was larger than today.

The last restoration works were completed in 2002.

DESCRIPTION of the CHURCH
The church, built in excellent cut stone with unequal courses, is a refined model of Apulian Romanesque architecture.

The simple gabled façade with a smooth face has a lunar double ring portal, topped by an oculus, originally perforated. The gable of the façade, crowned by a theory of flying buttresses, frames a rose carved with the initials of  Saint Margaret. The exterior has, in addition to the gable facade, also the gables of the side and of the apse.

The plant is a Greek contracted cross. [2] The nave of the temple, on which a dome on plumes is placed in the central part at the intersection with the arms, is ended to the east by a semicircular apse. Inside it there is a two columns canopy on Romanesque lions.

The roof has a pyramidal roof that hides the extrados of the dome. It is made of  "chiancarelle", small slabs of local limestone.

The elegant ornamental apparatus of the church, sparingly distributed, is slightly more pronounced on the head facing north with the Agnus dei and some shutter shelves to the frame of arches ending the tympanum.

Still on the external side facing north there are three tombs [3] made by some of the most famous master sculptors in Puglia of the thirteenth century: Facitolo da Bari and Anseramo da Trani.

The first unfinished tomb, with the lying figure of a warrior, is dedicated to Basilio and Mauro Falconi.

The second, dedicated to Riccardo Falconi and made by Facitolo da Bari, has a rich finely decorated and openwork canopy dating back to 1220. [4] The third is intended for the the Falconi’s children. It was made by Anseramo da Trani in 1246, and has a trilobed arched canopy resting on two columns.

Inside the church there are inscribed tombstones of the people buried here, such as Riccardo, Mauro and Basilio Falconi[5], of Abbot Giacomo, and there is also an inscription of 1136 from the church of San Fortunato, now disappeared.

The interior is divided into three naves with a double porch, by means of columns supporting round arches. The central nave is covered with trusses, while the side ones are covered with ribbed vaults.

In the 13th century, the church was accompanied by a panel depicting the heroic deeds and virtues of Saint Margaret, who shows herself with her hands raised in prayer [6]. Currently the panel is kept at the Metropolitan Art Gallery of Bari. The church included two other panels, one of which depicted Saint Nicholas of Bari and the other a Madonna with Child.