Page 20 - SAINT HADRIAN’S CHURCH

Adriano Mazziotti

These stone carvings, almost certainly dated back to the
Norman era, are part of the cultural trend of the
mysterious, fascinating and archaic Gorgon masks, which
are characterized by the monstrosity of human figures and
animals. The two figures on the doorposts of the
forementioned door, witnesses of ancient magical
symbolisms, also recall the
"Bestiaria" (monstrous masks)
present in the great abbeys and
Romanesque and Gothic
churches in northern Italy,
across the Alps, and in England.
At the entrance of the sacred

building, they served to invite
the monks to leave out of the holy place all worldly
concerns and above all any diabolical temptation.
The inscription placed above the front mask is also quite
interesting. An epigraph with letters belonging to the
Greek alphabet of the Byzantine age, later than 10th
century, engraved very closely, almost attached to each
other. It may be thought that the person who engraved the
inscription was not very familiar with this technique. The
translation could be as
follows: "Enter the Grace
by proceeding directly. (You
will find) the Truth."*

In the bracket of the left jamb there is a nine-pointed
star carved or a cosmogram (a symbolic representation of
the Cosmos), while in the right one there is a small palm.

*The plausible translation of the Greek epigraph is by Dr. Angelo

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