CASTEL SANT'ELIA. - A comune in the province of Viterbo near Nepi, in the ancient Suppentine valley. It appears that St. Benedict founded a monastery there; from the ancient church there remain ambos and other fragmentary marble furnishings of the 9th century. The present building dates to an age not precisely determined, between the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century, and was restored with some arbitrariness by Vespignani under Pius IX.

It is a basilical building with three naves divided by columns with arches and a transept as high as the central nave; without introducing any novelty, it takes up again, with a changed sense of the compositional elements, the Early Christian modes used in Rome throughout the Middle Ages. Beneath the presbytery extends a spacious crypt, covered with vaults; beside it is an older chapel. Of great interest are the paintings in the apse conch with Christ in Glory and those of the transept with a series of episodes relating to the apocalyptic visions. Works of notable chromatic refinement and exquisite elegance of contour line, stylistically dependent on the paintings of the lower church of St. Clement in Rome, they are the work of the Roman brothers Giovanni and Stefano and their nephew Nicolò.

In the present parish church is preserved the most notable Italian collection of medieval sacred vestments (from the 12th century onward). The sanctuary of S. Maria ad Rupea has been restored by Msgr. G. Döbbing, bishop of Sutri. - See Pl. LVIII.

Plate LVIII Above: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. ELIJAH (11th cent.) with paintings by the Roman brothers Giovanni and Stefano and their nephew Niccolò (11th-12th cent.). Below: EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. ELIJAH (11th cent.).(fot. Alinari)

Plate LVIII Above: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. ELIJAH (11th cent.) with paintings by the Roman brothers Giovanni and Stefano and their nephew Niccolò (11th-12th cent.). Below: EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. ELIJAH (11th cent.).(fot. Alinari)

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: J. Braun, Die liturgische Gewandung, Freiburg im Br. 1907, pp. 75, 180, 188, 193 ff., 276, 402, 468; P. Toesca, Storia dell'arte italiana, I, Il medioevo, Turin 1927, pp. 364, 925 ff.

Guglielmo Matthiae

@incollection{ec3_castel_sant_elia, author = {Matthiae, Guglielmo}, title = {Castel Sant'Elia}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {1030}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/castel-sant-elia} }

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