San Teodoro.
The church of San Teodoro is dedicated to Saint Theodorus of Pavia, who between ca. 740 and 778 served as bishop of Pavia. The history of the church goes back to the eighth century. Originally it was dedicated to Saint Agnes of Rome, who according to tradition was martyred in the year 304 (see Rome: Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura). At some point, after the relics of Saint Theodorus had arrived in the church, the building was re-dedicated to this local saint. In the twelfth century the church was rebuilt in the Romanesque style. This rebuilding was followed by renovations in the early sixteenth and late seventeenth centuries, while the church was thoroughly restored in 1887 and between 1904 and 1909.
The interior of the church and its crypt is fairly simple. The fresco of the Holy Trinity in the apse is colourful and perhaps attempts to replicate a lost mosaic, but it is quite evidently a modern work. The fresco was made between 1922 and 1924 by the local painter Antonio Villa (1883-1962). On the columns we find a number of medieval votive frescoes, while the capitals of the columns with images of fantasy creatures are also worth a closer look. In 1998 parts of a mosaic floor were discovered in the right aisle. This floor probably dates back to the time of the rebuilding of the church in the twelfth century. The images we see are not easy to interpret, but I got the impression that what I saw was not necessarily Christian. I for instance took a picture of a hooved satyr with a caption that reads SATRIO. The satyr is armed with a sword and shield and fights against a monster. We also see a naked figure with a harpoon next to a deer.
Those cursed French
The most interesting artworks in the San Teodoro are two fresco cycles about the lives of Theodorus and Agnes, painted by an unknown master (or multiple masters) around 1514-1519. In the church we moreover find two frescoes with a view of sixteenth-century Pavia. These are tentatively attributed to Bernardino Lanzani (ca. 1460-1530) and were painted around 1522-1525. From an artistic point of view the frescoes are not very special, but what is interesting about them is that they refer to and, in a way, comment on certain sixteenth-century events. At the time Pavia was – and had been since 1359 – part of the Duchy of Milan. Like other Italian cities it suffered badly during the Italian Wars, which tore the peninsula apart between 1494 and 1559. These were confusing times, as today’s allies could be tomorrow’s enemies, and vice versa. Indicative is, in this respect, the so-called War of the League of Cambrai (1508-1516). During this conflict the Pope and his allies, including France, fought against Venice. After the Venetian defeat His Holiness joined forces with Venice and other allies in a Holy League against France. The situation became even more muddled in 1513, when Venice left the League and made an alliance with France. An excellent move, as France subsequently won the war.
Fresco cycle about Saint Theodorus of Pavia.
When the twelve frescoes about the life of Saint Theodorus were painted, France was clearly the great bogeyman. The French had ruled over Milan between 1499 and 1512, but had been expelled from the city in the latter year. As of 1513 Milan (and henceforth Pavia) had joined the fight against the French and Venetians. These events are reflected in the frescoes, which feature not just Theodorus, but also the Frankish king Charlemagne. The historical reality is that Charlemagne intervened in Italy in 773 at the behest of Pope Adrianus I (772-795), who had got into a conflict with the Longobard king Desiderius. The Frankish army defeated that of Desiderius at Mortara and then besieged Pavia, which was forced to surrender in 774. The defeat and surrender brought about the fall of the Longobard Kingdom of Italy and Desiderius was exiled, probably to the Abbey of Corbie in Picardy. This is what actually happened, but the frescoes tell a completely different story. During the siege one of Charlemagne’s nephews is killed, who is then resurrected by Theodorus. This miracle is followed by an even greater miracle: Theodorus causes the river Ticino to flood, and as a consequence the Franks are forced to break camp and give up the siege. Pavia has been saved!
In this context, Charlemagne is clearly a metaphor for the French king Louis XII (1498-1515), while the eighth-century Franks symbolise the sixteenth-century French. Using (and abusing) history for political purposes goes back a long way. In 1515 Louis’ successor Francis I (1515-1547) won a crushing victory at Marignano and managed to recapture Milan, a success that also brought Pavia back under French rule. However, in 1521 the French lost Milan again when the city was taken by a Spanish army of the Habsburg monarch Charles V. On 24 February 1525 King Francis would ultimately suffer an ignominious defeat against Charles’ army, in a battle that was fought near Pavia of all places. French losses were terrible, and the king himself was taken prisoner. And so the Italian War of 1521-1526 ended in a Habsburg victory.
View of Pavia
This result of the war, beneficial to Pavia, still lay in the future when Bernardino Lanzani – if it was indeed him – started work on his frescoes in the church of San Teodoro in 1522. The frescoes show us how Pavia is besieged, a reference to the siege of the city by the French in April of 1522. The commander of the defenders, marquess Federico II Gonzaga of Mantova, was very lucky. Bad weather and the arrival of a relief army caused the French to retreat. Pavia had been saved, and this time – unlike in 774 – the victory was real.[1] The grateful provost of the San Teodoro subsequently commissioned a votive fresco to commemorate the event.
When the fresco was detached in 1956 and transferred to canvas, a second (incomplete) fresco was discovered below it.[2] In the completed fresco we see Saint Anthony the Abbot in the foreground. He can easily be identified by his attributes, the pig and the bell attached to his staff. Anthony is also featured in the uncompleted fresco, with in the sky above him three saints that are very important to Pavia: Saint Theodorus, Saint Syrus (San Siro) and Saint Augustinus. Especially the completed fresco offers a good view of Pavia in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. Several buildings are clearly recognisable, such as the Ponte Coperto in the foreground and the Castello Visconteo in the background. It is also quite easy to spot many of Pavia’s most important churches, for instance San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, San Michele Maggiore and of course San Teodoro itself. According to my travel guide Pavia once had 99 towers. Judging by the fresco, I am inclined to believe this claim.
Castello Visconteo.
Sources: Trotter travel guide Northwest Italy (2016), p. 398-399, leaflet of the Amici di San Teodoro, Chiesa di San Teodoro (Pavia) – Wikipedia and LombardiaBeniCulturali.
Notes
[1] In 1527 and 1528 the city would suffer three more sieges.
[2] It is conceivable that the first version of the fresco was made by a different painter than the second version.
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