STOBI. - Ancient city of Paeonia, on the site of the present-day village of Pusto-Gradako. In 386 A.D. it was the capital of Macedonia II Salutaris; it was an episcopal see and its bishop was present in 325 at the Council of Nicaea. The Basilica is its most notable monument.
The earliest structures of the Christian basilica of S. were identified by Krischen in 1918. In subsequent excavation campaigns, an entire complex of adjoining buildings came to light, among which certainly a baptistery. The Basilica is about 39 m long, with three naves, in red stone and brick (some with Byzantine stamps), without a transept, with a crypt and a semiannular apse; it was provided with a narthex of the same width as one of the side aisles, which, however, proved to be shorter on the southern side because of a rocky landslide that prevented its completion. It is entered through three doors, one corresponding to each nave; on this side the naves themselves narrow by about 1.30 m compared with the maximum width (28.60 m). The columns of the naves are spolia from the destroyed theatre, as the capitals and bases found also attest. A stone platform found among the ruins of the theatre seems to belong to an ambo of the church; the existence of the iconostasis that closed off the presbytery is certain, as in all Balkan churches.
The few capitals show a decoration of spiny acanthus leaves with figures of human heads and birds, in the Theodosian manner of the 5th century. The church must have been richly ornamented. Remains of mosaics are in the apse and especially in the side aisles. The general motif of the decoration is that common to Balkan churches: a series of panels with geometric designs or animal figures, framed by friezes of arabesques. There is no lack of remains of ornaments imitating hangings, as in S. Maria Antiqua in Rome, and still in situ in the narthex are panels imitating marble inlay, as in the cathedral of Parenzo. The few remains of human figures are variously interpreted: the most plausible hypothesis holds that there were life-size figures of saints and smaller ones in various compositions. There are also those who see in a group of fragments a scene of the Annunciation.
As for dating, the constructional, plastic, iconographic and stylistic elements suggest c. 500, that is, the pre-iconoclast period. The basilica of S. thus takes its place alongside the great churches of Constantinople and Salonica, and with its sculptures and paintings ranks among the most significant examples of the golden age of Justinian.
Bibliography6 works
Pasquale Testini