Vaulted by a starry sky with the two centres of Christ and Mary, the Last Judgment in the west and the Annunciation in the east, witnessed by God, frame the nave of the church. In between the two, the story of Mary is narrated on the upper register of the walls - beginning with scenes from the lives of her parents, Joachim and Anne - and the youth of Christ and the story of his Passion are narrated on the two lower registers. To a great extent the representations follow the "Legenda aurea", a collection of legends of the saints, written by Jacobus da Voragine in 1264. The narrative cycles rest on a painted dado. This complements the pictorial program, and proves to be one of the inventions with which Giotto renewed art, even in what is supposed to be only a secondary setting.
To get the best experience of the visit we suggest the following schedule. 1. Look at the interior with the fresco cycles on the walls using the links at left. From these views, you can locate and view some of the scenes of the fresco cycles. In addition, from here, you can get a schematic plan of the wall frescoes and reach all of the 53 parts of the four fresco cycles on the walls with descriptions. 2. Alternatively, you can study the three narrative scenes and some of their details using the upper menu row. 3. After the narrative scenes, using the upper menu row, too, you can study in detail the Last Judgment fresco located in the west of the church. 4. Following the narrative scenes, you can view the 14 frescoes of personified virtues and vices that complement the walls' pictorial program. 5. Viewing the vault frescoes and the decorative elements on the walls will complete the tour. The schedule is always available during the tour from the upper menu row. |