Explore the rotunda of St. Tome, a jewel of Romanesque architecture inspired by the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher. Discover its medieval history, admire unique frescoes and experience its magical atmosphere.
Mystical atmosphere
San Tomè emerges from the plain line like a mirage.
A small road hidden among the trees fosters the impression of being transported to a remote time, dotted with religious pilgrimages, holy wars, valiant knights and mysterious legends.
Unmistakable for its round plan, the building most likely takes its inspiration from the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem where Christ is thought to have been buried.
Its final construction, in fact, dates back to the period in the Middle Ages when pilgrims, crusaders, mystics, heretics and the simple faithful dreamed of or visited the Holy Land.
Once inside the church, the atmosphere immediately becomes unique and rarefied: embroideries of light and shadow appear on the walls and floor, while the columns punctuate the space by becoming from, tall and mighty in the nave, slender in the women’s gallery (balcony above the nave once intended to accommodate women, who had to remain separate from men).
The magic increases during the equinoxes, when a ray of sunlight crosses the rotunda and strikes the tabernacle over the altar, creating a spectacle that evokes ancient rituals and sacred symbolism.
History of St. Tome
The fact that it arose in such a secluded place suggests that, in ancient times, there was a necropolis there; there is no definite record of the construction, but it is likely that the original building dates as far back as the 10th century. On the threshold of the 12th, however, wars and neglect turned it into a sort of ruin, so the bishop of Bergamo decided to rebuild it from scratch, keeping only the foundations of the old temple. Today St. Tome shows itself in all its essential splendor: a small church, made of rough stones and divided into three parts: nave, tiburium and lantern (tiburium: an architectural element of various shapes that encloses a dome inside; lantern: a structure placed at the top of a dome, with a circular or polygonal plan and possible windows).
Architecture and Art
The typical characteristics ofRomanesque architecture can be found there: sobriety, references to the solar cycles of the seasons to unify the lives of men and nature, and rejection of waste. The capitals of the columns, for example, are all different from each other and are reused, that is, recycled from other pre-existing buildings. Scattered along the walls, remnants of frescoes emerge: a Madonna and Child Enthroned, to the left of the entrance, and an Annunciation in the women’s gallery: it can thus be assumed that the walls were once mostly decorated with good-quality paintings. On the entrance portals are carved bas-reliefs: one depicts a man with a spear in his hand representing St. Thomas. Rectangular semi-pillars (pilasters) protrude on the outer walls to lighten the structure. The apse (an architectural structure, usually placed at the end of the nave, with a semicircular or polygonal plan, often covered by a vault that is generally shaped like a semi-dome) is located not far from the spur of a rock overhanging a stream. Adjacent to San Tomè was a small monastery, later converted into a farmstead. A recent restoration has allowed its recovery, and now the old walls house a study center-the European Romanesque Antenna-a venue for conferences, exhibitions, and events.