La circolazione di modelli. I chiostri dei monasteri benedettini in Terra di Bari (X-XIII secolo)

Among the architectural production in the Apulian area between the 10th and 13th centuries, it is possible to recognize a specific architectural typology commonly called “cupole in asse” churches. These buildings – devel- oped in Apulian Benedictine monasteries in these period – have three domes in succession on the main nave and semi-barrels covering the aisles and would seem an uni- cum in the Mediterranean architecture. If for ecclesiastical architecture, it is possible to find a well-defined model (comparable even in size) it would be investigating the architecture of the cloister in the monasteries in which it is possible to recognize the original one. These are the mon- asteries of Bari (11th-12th centuries), Conversano (late 11th century) and Brindisi (12th century), for which, although of different sizes and shapes in plan, the adoption from the 12th century onwards of quadriphoras with «capitelli a stampella» is noted; a choice to which the cloister of the pre-existing monastery of St. Benedict in Bari also conforms. The adoption of similar architectural solutions could be attributed to the circulation of workers in the different construction sites of the same monastic order in an almost restricted area, as well as to a precise will of the patrons. The design, formal and decorative aspects of the mentioned cloisters will be analyzed in relation to the context. In the search for reference models, the position, importance, and cosmopolitan character of the «Terra di Bari» in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, which was willing to receive artistic and architectural models from geographically distant areas, will be considered.