San Cristoforo, Romanesque cathedral in Barga, Italy
San Cristoforo is a Romanesque cathedral built from stone and white marble, set on a hilltop above the old town of Barga in northern Tuscany. Its square tower and carved stone portal give the building a solid, fortress-like appearance from the outside.
The cathedral was first built in the 11th century and gradually expanded and altered through to the 16th century. Over those centuries, builders added Gothic elements alongside the original Romanesque structure, which is why the interior looks different from the exterior.
The marble pulpit inside rests on a lion figure and displays carved scenes from the life of Christ, including the Annunciation and the Nativity. It was made by Guido Bigarelli of Como in the 13th century and remains one of the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture in Tuscany.
The cathedral sits at the top of Barga's old town and is reached on foot via narrow cobbled lanes that lead uphill from the town center. The climb is short but steep in places, so comfortable shoes are a good idea.
An inscription on the facade repeats a prayer to Archangel Michael that also appears on the Baptistry of Pisa Cathedral, pointing to a direct link between the craftsmen who worked on both buildings. This kind of shared text between two distant churches was unusual even in the Romanesque period.
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