Comune di Fidenza
Historical Itinerary
"Borgo" is a name that calls to mind a small town, but one with a strong sense of identity, recognized as such by pilgrims from Northern Europe on their way to Rome and an important stopover on their journey. And this was how Fidenza was known in the Middle Ages.Traveling along the Via Francigena, having arrived in Borgo, those on their way to Rome could choose whether to continue their journey by going south−west or east. If they chose to go south−west, they took the Cisa Pass, stopping in Lucca and Siena. Going east, they followed the Via Emilia, going through Modena, Bologna and Arezzo, then following along Lakes Trasimeno and Bolsena, finally joining up with the other route at Viterbo.
Its geographical position midway between Piacenza and Parma and along a major axis of communication, was, for Fidenza, the cause of turbulent events throughout the entire 12th century. But it was also the source of unquestionable cultural privilege, having as it did its duomo (cathedral) which, in terms of size and architectural quality, rivaled the main Romanesque cathedrals in the Emilia region in Piacenza, Parma, Modena and Cremona.
The emancipation of the cities in Central and Northern Italy from hierarchically superior powers, the formation of territorial bodies capable of following their own autonomous strategies of economic development and the subsequent crisis with Emperor Frederick I−which lasted from his first campaign into Italy (1154−1155) to the Peace of Constance in 1183−form the key to understanding both local history as well as the wider history of artistic events in Lombardy during that era.
Around the year 1100, Borgo was able to acquire for itself a significant amount of autonomy from Parma which, during that period, was caught up in the schism of Cadalo. It is within this context that historians have placed the building of a church that was larger than the original parish church, of which only a few traces remain.
A striking indirect indication of the existence of this older structure can be found in the bas relief of the northern tympanum of the duomo. Depicted there is Pope Adrian II, pontiff from 867 to 872, shown giving his mitre and pastoral staff to the dean of Saint Domninus (Immagine 7.14 pag. 55): this marks the date from which the existence of a church host to a bishop’s seat and therefore of influence, may be deduced.
The new structure could have been inaugurated in 1106, even if some of the work may have dragged on after that date, up to 1135. Its size must have been similar to that of the current church, with three naves and perhaps "matronei" (open galleries) similar to those in the cathedral in Modena, trussed vaults, a simple façade and without side chapels. (Immagine "planimetria della cattedrale", pag 10)
It was around this that the troubled history of Borgo revolved throughout the 12th century. Constantly being fought over by Piacenza and Parma, it was sacked by Parma twice, in 1108 and 1152 (with only the church being spared out of respect for the relics of the saint). During this period, Borgo maintained a pro-empire stand and in 1162 Frederick I confirmed its status as a city "semper fuit in tuitione imperatorum antecessorum nostrorum" ["always under the protection of the emperors that have gone before us"].
The subsequent century saw a period of relative peace following the treaty of Alseno between Parma and Piacenza (1202). The annexation of Borgo to the Pallavicino state, supported by the emperor (1248), was, nonetheless, just the prelude to the third and final sacking by Parma (1268).
In his impressive study dedicated to "Lombard Art", Arthur Kingsley Porter attempted to date the re−facing of the Duomo of Fidenza, implicitly laying the basis for the much wider question regarding Benedetto Antelami, unquestionably the creator of the famous "Deposition" (1178, Duomo of Parma) as well as work on the Baptistry of Parma (1196). Porter attributes the work on the new Duomo of Borgo to Antelami, dating it between the years 1184 and 1196.
Other scholars have subsequently expressed other opinions.
Geza De Francovich, in his 1952 study dedicated to Antelami, hypothesizes that Antelami’s work fell into two different periods, the first between 1180 and 1190 to plan the work, and 1210 and 1216 to finish it.
René Jullian does not recognize the work in Fidenza as being by Antelami, offering the theory that low−skilled labor began work at the end of the 12th century, with a solid artist working on it between 1201 and 1210, to be finished hurriedly by artisans after 1230.
Wagner−Rieger remains even more generic, excluding that it is Antelami’s work because of the many discrepancies in style in the bas reliefs.
Quintavalle acknowledges that Antelami was involved in the project of the façade and some of the sculptures and hypothesizes that the work in Fidenza and Parma were undertaken during the same period (end 12th or beginning 13th century, up to 1210).
One opinion that is interesting from a methodological standpoint has been proposed by Roberto Tassi who dates the work in Borgo from the early years of the 13th century because the hostility between Borgo and Parma would have prevented anyone from working in both cities simultaneously. Tassi notes that in 1202 Ugo da Sesto arrived in the city as the new provost. He arrived from Parma and would later be transferred to Vercelli at the time the local church of Sant’Andrea was founded, the church also having bas-reliefs in the style of Antelami. Tassi poses the question if the presence of works directly or indirectly attributable to Antelami’s sphere in the places where Ugo da Sesto passed through is just a coincidence, or if perhaps this is not an indication of Antelami’s presence in Borgo immediately after 1202.
Later studies have been unable to reach a definitive conclusion for the lack of available documentation. However, they have contributed to developing an approach that is not prevalently based on stylistic questions, but rather on historical criteria founded on a wider plexus of correlations.