A Singing Door: Images, Space and Sound in the Santa Sabina Narthex

Authors

FOLETTI Ivan

Year of publication 2016
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Description In recent years the narthex of the fifth-century basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome was designated as a liminal zone; a space for the preparation of neophytes for baptism. The images carved on the doors, one of the key monuments of the space, and written sources have confirmed this interpretation. Current restorations have however permitted a new and fascinating discovery that the main wooden doors were conceived to let the sound through. The neophytes, standing in front of the closed gates and their carved images, had the opportunity to encounter – with their eyes and ears – the promised mystery.
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