AFAT 33

The author studies the mural paintings preserved in the abbey of Saint Michael of Leme in Istria. The wall paintings decorate the apse of the monastic church, whose origins date back to the hermitage of Romualdo, lasted three years (since the end of 1001), well attested by sources. The main church was built in the following decades and was consecrated in 1041, the year that serves as the ante quem for the execution of the late Ottonian wall paintings cycle. She analyzes the iconographic themes (especially the Stoning of saint Stephen), proposing a series of comparisons. Are also analyzed ornamental decorations (the meander frieze or ‘greca prospettica’ and the circle or ‘doppia pelta’), following the spread in the Alpine regions and northern Italian, from Carolingian period to the Romanesque. Analyzing the stylistic characteristics, emphasizes the extreme rarity of such paintings come down to us, making an overview which incorporates recent discoveries in the area of the patriarchy of Aquileia (particularly Villuzza, in Friuli, compared with Kanfanar, also in Istria). She devotes particular attention to the models transmission, especially in the so-called ‘art Benedictine’ (emphasizing in particular the relationship with Müstair).