Muzej / Museo Lapidarium Novigrad

The collection of early medieval monuments, architectural sculpture and church furnishings, which all come from the neighbouring cathedral, forms the kernel and the most significant part of the Novigrad Lapidarium Museum. The majority of authors set the beginnings of the Novigrad diocese (abolished in 1928) into the early Christian period, supporting this thesis with documents in which an episcopal see is mentioned, which can be identified as Novigrad. Yet, these documents could also refer to other locations in the Veneto region. G. Cuscito notes correctly, that the first unambiguously documented bishop of Novigrad was only Mauritius, whose name may be read on the well-known ciborium, and who is undoubtedly identical to the Istrian bishop mentioned in a letter by Pope Hadrian addressed to Charlemagne between 776 and 780 (CUSCITO, 2002, 67). It is not impossible, that in Novigrad a church may have existed even before the Carolingian period - some stone fragments with traces of early Christian art seem to suggest this, and the octagonal baptistery, dismantled at the end of the 18th century, is also dated into Early Christianity.

The present-day St. Pelagius' Parish Church, and former Novigrad cathedral, is a building with three naves, with archways resting on square pillars and a semicircular apse located in its flat rear, raised over the sunken crypt. The morphological features of the church, its wall decorations and its liturgical furnishings are the result of numerous and extensive reconstructions that took place between the 15th and the 18th century. Three windows with semicircular arches, that were discovered in 1972 at the north wall of the basilica, between the existing baroque windows, point to a medieval or even older structure underneath the modern wall surfaces (PARENTIN, 1974, 193). The crypt lying beneath the sanctuary also shows medieval features. This ambiance has been drawing the attention of researchers for some time, and the restoration works in the crypt undertaken between 1996-1999 brought forward finds, which make possible a reconstruction of the original appearance of the St. Pelagius' Church and a new interpretation and dating of both the crypt and the entire complex.

The floor plan of the crypt coincides with the sanctuary lying above it, and it has been proven that the apse and the crypt walls were built at the same time. Between the semicircular apse and the rectangular outer walls, a small, vaulted chamber was constructed to either side. The cross vault, masoned with massive, longitudinal and transverse ribs, is carried by four piers and several semi-piers lining the crypt walls. The capitals of the four piers were replaced during a thorough restoration of the crypt in 1867, three of the damaged original capitals, however, were discovered in a walled-up window in 1997. Their form is similar to that of the preserved semi-capitals: a simple truncated pyramid with the vertical edges rounded progressively to a circular shape at the basis of the capital. In the course of these restoration works, two original, symmetrically placed entrances into the crypt were discovered, as well as a part of the vault of the "access tunnel" and several stairs. The original entrances are located underneath the existing baroque stairways that lead to the sanctuary. Within the framework of these restoration works, three walled-up windows were discovered in the crypt and reopened. One of them is equipped with an original stone openwork window panel with interlacery ornamentation.

In the crypt, numerous fragments of early medieval church furnishings and accessories were found. In later repairs and reconstructions, these fragments were used as spolia. Original doors and windows were walled-up and the floor was coated with them. The best-preserved and most beautiful panels with early medieval reliefs (mainly interlacery ornamentation) were removed from the floor of the crypt in 1895, and they made up the first Lapidarium stone collection. If to these fragments one adds the finds made during the restoration works of 1996-1999, one gets a collection of over one hundred stone monuments. Some of them remain even today where they were first built-in, such as for example the frame of the new door to the crypt, consisting of two fragments decorated with early medieval motifs from the 8th century. For the lintel of this door a marble pilaster from the altar divider was used, with a chiselled composition of an arched cross and trees, symbolizing Christ in paradise. This sculpture may be seen in the crypt. Most relief-decorated fragments were found during the dismantling of the rectangular altar base that was located in the middle of the crypt. This masoned cube was entirely built of fragments of early medieval sculptures. The most beautiful altar find is an arch fragment of the Mauritius-Ciborium, which completed its fragmentary second side. The corresponding capital was found in the walled-up original south entrance of the crypt. Among the fragments of the Novigrad cathedral's former altar divider, of which a couple dozen were found, the remains of openwork altar parapets with interlacery ornamentation are especially remarkable. This is a true rarity in early medieval sculpture, as the manufacturing of such perforated stone panels was rather complicated. Novigrad's four openwork altar parapets are rare, if not even unique examples of such work Europe-wide. They were connected by pilasters, with decorated capital areas and friezes. The ornamentation of the front side of the pilasters, displaying a double-framed coffer-like motif, also ought to be mentioned. This detail is clearly reminiscent of the way in which pilaster fronts were typically decorated in the 6th century, as, among others, the example of the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč demonstrates. Motifs of early Christian art were frequently imitated in the pre-Romanesque era, and several examples of similar ornamentation are found on pilasters from the 8th century in Rome. This additionally bears testimony to the value of Novigrad's pre-Romanesque sculptures, and proves that they were by no means of provincial character.

The fragments of the pre-Romanesque church inventory, to be seen today both in the church and in the Lapidarium Museum, are not the work of a single author or workshop - they probably originate from the period between the middle the 8th and the end of 9th century. By their facture and characteristics, some of them can be placed in the era of Bishop Mauritius, from the seventies of the 8th century to the beginnings of 9th century. Reliefs in which a more regular and finer rhythm of a large repertoire of geometric ornaments predominates, probably originate from the High Middle Ages, as this characteristic is found in hundreds of reliefs from that period throughout Italy, but also in Dalmatia and Croatia. They are easily distinguished from later stone monuments, created in the 11th or 12th century, such as, for example, the tablet with lion reliefs or the openwork window panel with symmetrical vine in full leaf.

The north window of the crypt preserved a stone openwork window panel. Its inner side is decorated with interlacing circles of three-strand bands. The same motifs and carving can be observed on some of the cathedral parapets, from which we can conclude, that the openwork window panel originates from the same period as the remaining stone inventory, i.e. the late 8th or early 9th century. This dating of the openwork window panel leads to a further conclusion, namely that the Novigrad crypt, and thus possibly the entire cathedral, may have been built in the 8th or 9th century. At any rate, at that time a large church with rich stone furnishings decorated with refined reliefs existed in Novigrad. The form of the Novigrad crypt, especially its floor plan, largely coincides with that of the crypt of the cathedral of Aquileia, which recently has increasingly frequently been dated into the time of Patriarch Paulinus in the 8th century. Similarity is also found in the small chambers between the outer walls and the semi-circle of the crypt, as well as in the semi-capitals of the pilasters lining the walls. The location of the altar with the relics in the very centre of the crypt is also equal in both churches. This latter detail no longer exists in Aquileia, while in Novigrad the reliquary has been preserved standing on four columns and touching the central vault of the crypt, thus having established contact with the altar in the sanctuary. The reliquary was given its present form of a stone coffer after a reconstruction by Bishop Adam in the year 1146 and a further one by Bishop Caimo in the year 1621. It stores what remains of the relics of the Novigrad patron saints after a looting in the 14th and a robbery in the 16th century. When the base of the altar was dismantled, a small stone sarcophagus with cover was found under the reliquary. This may have been the original repository of the Novigrad relics.

The crypt was purpose-built for the storage and the worship of the valuable relics. Already Kandler noted that the antique spolia, Roman funerary stelae with inscriptions, were used in the crypt to lend it additional importance and emphasize the significance of this holy place (KANDLER, 1847, 229). In the northern small chamber, we find a Roman urn. It is larger than the chamber entrance, which means that it was placed there at the time of the building of the crypt. At the front of the urn the usual inscription is found, while its sides are decorated by chiselled winged, torch-bearing genii, in Roman mythology the guardian spirits leading the souls into the underworld. As in the narrow chamber it was impossible to admire these beautiful reliefs, the urn was temporarily turned around during the restoration works, in order to photograph the ornaments. Stone tablets with Roman inscriptions were used to support the columns that carry the construction of the crypt. These massive tablets were partly removed during the restoration of the crypt in the mid-19th century and were broken in the process - their fragments are kept at the Lapidarium Museum. Two fragments without inscription were used as base for the newly erected columns. Further Roman inscriptions were masoned into the new large altar, that was coated with stone in the 19th century. The names of the deceased and the members of their families found on these stones bear a striking resemblance to the names of the protagonists of the legend of St. Pelagius' martyrdom. Therefore, Kandler concluded correctly, that the Roman inscriptions were in the crypt not only for utilitarian reasons, serving as suitable building material, but that they also served as pseudo-archaeological and epigraphical documents, additionally lending the memory of the local martyr greater credibility.

The most important find in the Novigrad crypt is a large marble tablet, that once covered the sarcophagus with the relics of St. Pelagius. It was discovered in 1998 in the floor of the cathedral. As it was partially covered by a step at the newer door, it had remained undiscovered, when the flooring was removed at the end of the 19th century (Matejčić, 2000, 51). The grooves at the edge of the tablet clearly prove that this was indeed the cover of the sarcophagus. On its inside, a coarsely chiselled cross in relief and the inscription S(an)C(tu)S PELAGIU (s) are found. The characteristics of the writing indicate that the inscription dates from the late 8th or early 9th century, thus making this the oldest preserved mention of Novigrad's patron saint. Today, the tablet is exhibited in the crypt.

The fragments of the ciborium, that once stood in the baptistery of the cathedral, take a special place in the collection of Novigrad's early medieval sculpture. In the new Lapidarium Museum, they are displayed in such a way as to illustrate their original location in the baptistery. The already dilapidated octagonal baptistery was dismantled at the end of the 18th century, by order of Bishop Stratik. Its original location is not exactly known today. According to some researchers, the baptistery was located directly in front of the cathedral, while others are of the opinion that it was situated further south, roughly where the campanile stands today. Its shape, however, is fairly well known. In addition to some older descriptions of its appearance, a drawing by French architect Léon Dufourny from the year 1783 has been preserved. It shows an octagonal building with three windows and a wooden roof truss. At its centre, a raised, hexagonal baptismal font was situated. From the font corners rose the columns bearing the six sides of the ciborium, whose top edges were bordered with a projecting cornice. In the interior of the baptistery, two steps leaned against the walls. Dufourny could not have seen the baptistery as he has drawn it, because at that time it was already dilapidated. Neither could he have seen the ciborium at the centre of the baptistery, as it had been dismantled much earlier. His drawing is therefore a reconstruction, but it was based on still existing remains. At the time, the sides of the ciborium were displayed built into the cathedral walls, where they were placed by Bishop Negri (1732–1742), who had found them, serving as building material, built into the above mentioned steps of the baptistery. Yet, Dufourny's drawing, that was later published in Séroux d'Agincourt's monumental collection of European architectural plans, corresponds to the descriptions of the baptistery, and measurements of the preserved parts of the ciborium have proven that they have been represented correctly.

The ciborium reliefs are just as significant as the inscription running along the upper edge of its basket, referring to Bishop Mauritius. The letter of Pope Hadrian dates Mauritius to before the seventies of the 8th century, which fully corresponds to the characteristic imaginative bas-relief compositions. Each side is divided into three parts; the inscription runs along the upper part, and under it a row of prongs separates it from the triangular fields above the arch, into which faunal and floral motifs are carved. There are the figure of a unicorn placed opposite a lion, deer with ramified antlers, peacocks with long necks and tails, doves, flowers and stylized leaves. The wide edge of the arch is trimmed at its lower end by a row of astragals and a band of small carved-in circles. The wider central field is decorated in manifold ways, alternating geometricized vines, two-strand interlacing ornamentation with leaves and grapes, simple interlacery with semi-circular "eyes" and double two-strand interlacery. Similar motifs are found on ciboria from that period throughout the regions of Veneto and Friuli. According Jurković's analysis, the ciborium of Cividale, commissioned by Patriarch Calixto (737–756), bears the greatest resemblance to the Mauritius Ciborium. Although the Calixto Ciborium was carved with greater skill, it certainly ought to be regarded as the ideal and artistic paragon of the Novigrad ciborium (CUSCITO, 1984, 11-134; JURKOVIĆ, 1995, 141-149). An even greater resemblance exists between the Novigrad reliefs and the decorations on the ciborium fragments discovered in Aquileia. It is presumed that this ciborium once stood over the baptismal font of the cathedral of Aquileia, which would indicate, that also in this detail Novigrad followed the monumental paragons of the metropolitan centre. The exhibited ciborium of Novigrad is crowned by a cornice, of which several fragments are on display in the Lapidarium Museum. Several authors have linked these fragments to the ciborium before, but only now have they been set up also physically as the crown of this elegant altar canopy. The columns on which the raised construction rested, have not been preserved, a capital, however, has been found that with certainty was part of the ciborium. It is decorated with two rows of simple, fleshy leaves and a rose in relief lying between them in the upper part. In the top surface of the capital, holes carved for the connection with the ciborium basket are preserved, as well as a groove in which the heel of the basket was laid; this groove is carved at a 60-degree angle, which corresponds to the hexagonal shape of the ciborium.

The extraordinarily valuable and rich collection of early medieval monuments in Novigrad is of a great cultural and artistic value. Some of these reliefs belong to the best works of pre-Romanesque sculpture, not only in Croatia, but also far beyond it. The Novigrad cathedral was indeed richly furnished, its stone and marble furnishings were decorated by dozens of meters of dense, laboriously and meticulously carved ornaments. If one views this precious artistic enterprise in a historical context, it appears as a large, non-verbal historic document, a true archive in stone. These works of art must be seen in the historic context of Istria and Novigrad at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th century, in order to detect which motives and powers stood behind such an extraordinary and ambitious commission. The beginnings and the strengthening of the Carolingian domination in Istria are linked to two personalities closely tied with Novigrad. Primarily, this is Bishop Mauritius, who finds mention in two documents: the inscription on the Novigrad ciborium and the aforementioned letter by Pope Hadrian from the year 876–880. In this letter, the pope asks Charlemagne to lend his support to Bishop Mauritius, who he calls Episcopus Histriensis, the Bishop of Istria, and who had been blinded and expelled by some Istrians accusing him of the collaboration with the Franks. In this papal letter, Mauritius is thus not explicitly named Bishop of Novigrad, but rather designated as "Bishop of Istria", although at the time at least three autonomous dioceses existed in Istria. It is presumed that Bishop Mauritius was dispatched to Istria by Pope Hadrian and Charlemagne in order to fulfil a special task, that could also have included the establishment of a new diocese. The establishment of a new diocese in Novigrad is also mentioned in a later document, a diploma by Emperor Otto III from the year 996, which reproduces data from the Carolingian period (MARGETIĆ, 1983, 123). Let us add to this the fact that at the beginning of the 9th century, thus some thirty years later, Novigrad is mentioned as the seat of Carolingian Duke Ivan. In the text of the Placitum of Rižana we find that Dux Iohannes, who had his seat in Novigrad, possessed serfs in the city and its surroundings. The assumption that the Duke kept court in Novigrad is also supported by the fact that - in contrast to other Istrian cities, which had to pay taxes - in Novigrad it was he who collected "income from the chancellery". All of this leads to the conclusion, that the Novigrad cathedral at that time was actually a court cathedral, established as the result of the political changes that had taken place in the course of the strengthening of the Frankish rule in Istria. This would also explain the fact, that in the papal letter Mauritius was set apart from the remaining bishops and named as "Bishop of Istria". As written documents from this period do not reveal much about Novigrad, in spite of their significance and wordiness, it is precisely through the material remains of the luxurious church furnishings, befitting a political centre, that we can better understand the position of Novigrad at the time of its peak. Already by the mid-9th century, the ducal seat was transferred to Friuli, and Novigrad continued to lead the life of a small-town diocese.