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Church Of San Lanfranco
The church of Saint Lanfranco and its monastery were erected in Pavia, on the north bank of the river Ticino
During the middle ages, the abbey of Saint Lanfranco on the Via Francigena was a hospice for travellers and pilgrims. At that time it was dedicated to the tomb of Jesus and often welcomed the bishop of Pavia, Lanfranco Beccari (1124-1198) who was buried here and was already considered a saint.
The thirteenth-century façade is decorated with charming ceramic plaques of both local and oriental origin, while the small cloister was built by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo in 1476.
During the refurbishment in 1932 some traces of ancient frescoes were discovered on the east wall of the south transept and on the south wall of the third bay, where Saint Lanfranco's grave had been probably placed.
The latter, actually, are votive frescoes by an anonimous author and are dated to the second half of the XIII century. There are represented: The Redeemeron a throne begged by the Virgin and by bishop Lanfranco; The murder of Saint Thomas Becket and the figure of Saint Thomas blessing. The author probably wished to make a parallel between the life of Saint Lanfranco and Saint Thomas, murdered owing to a political intrigue
The marquis Pietro Pallavicini de’ Scipione commissioned the tomb of Saint Lanfranco and the rebuilding of the presbytery in Renaissance style (1509). In 1525 during the conflict between François I of France and the Emperor Charles V, the monastery was the scene of battles and was damaged by fire.
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