Liminalità rituale in Albania nel XIV secolo. Simboli e culti in un affresco perduto a Derven

Abstract

The author analyzes (in the perspective of ritual liminality) the iconography of the fragmentary frescoes found at the archeological site of the church in Derven (Kruja, uncovered in 2007 and lost in 2008). Once the scarcity of the apse's theme is verified (Deesis: Mary Kyriotissa and Child in her arms between Saints Peter and Paul), the author evaluates mid-fourteenth century stylistic comparisons in the Balkan area, as well as details of west-Adriatic influence. The proposed interpretation is linked to a progressive orientation of Albanian feudal lords towards Roman obedience, in light of the documents and the renewed worship of apostolic princes Peter and Paul's relics (holy heads) translated in 1369 in the papal cathedral of St. John Lateran in Rome. Pope Urban V promoted such worship - coinciding with the progressive return of the papal Holy See from Avignon to Rome - in an effort to strengthen the prestige of Petrine primacy.