SCALE A VIS DE SAINT-GILLES DEL XIII SECOLO IN CALABRIA. MODELLI, RATIO COSTRUTTIVA E MAESTRANZE

13th Century Spiral Staircase à Vis de Saint-Gilles in Calabria: Models, Construction Mode and Masters In the last years the topic of medieval spiral staircase has been deeply studied. The discovery of a vis de Saint-Gilles (spiral staircase covered by a masonry vault) in Maniace castle, in Syracuse, has opened new perspectives on the subject. Calabrian’s medieval stairways have yet to be treated. This contribution, starting from the state of knowledge, is focused on the analysis of three unknown and unpublished calabrian vis de Saint-Gilles. Two of them are located in Cosenza’s cathedral, an important XIII cent. building. The other, a more problematic example, is in St. Giovanni in Fiore (XIII cent.). The analysis of Calabrian ladders’ most key features, such as geometry and stereotomy led to a comparison with the others known examples of vis de Saint-Gilles in southern Italy. In particular it is possible to find many links with Maniace castle’s staircase.