L'igumeno Theostíriktos e il 'franco' Girardo ai Ss. Pietro e Paolo di Agrò

Author: Antonino Tranchina
Abstract

ENGLISH
Igumen Theostíriktos and Gerard ‘the Frank’ at Ss. Pietro e Paolo at Agrò

With a few exceptions, the church of Ss. Pie­tro e Paolo di Agrò has generally been dated to the years immediately following the endowment charter, which was issued by Roger II in 1115 or 1116. Because of this assumption, a surviving Greek inscription claiming that the church was ‘renewed’ in 1172 has long been understood as referring to a later restoration. This assumption was reinforced by architectural restorer Pietro Lojacono, who noted certain irregularities in the masonry. Based on the extant pieces of built and documentary evidence, this paper proposes the years 1169-1172 as the most likely span within which the church was built. Furthermore, an examination of the aforementioned inscription demonstrates its role as a valid te­stament to the vast building campaign, mana­ged by Igumen Theostíriktos and overseen by the master craftsman Gerard, wich produced the extant structure.

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