THE CHURCHES

The Sainte Trinité et de Saint Jean-Baptiste, of an oblong plan, consists of a single nave covered with exposed wooden trusses, prolonged in a semicircular apse with apsidal basin. Its roof is covered with tiles. The granite slates in ochre, white and black shades are randomly arranged, creating decorative contrasts. Its western façade, marked by its soaring lines, hosts a door surmounted by a lintel and a relieving arch.
Its gable, the side walls and the apse are adorned with Lombard bands springing from modillions. The latter, in the same way as the lintels, are enriched by a sculpted decoration consisting of geometric, vegetal, animal and human motifs. In particular, the gable of the western façade shows a character caught in the act of digging a thorn out of his left foot.

The church of Sainte Trinité and Saint Jean-Baptiste likely dates from the first half of the 12th century, based on a comparison of its architectural features against those of similar, documented buildings found in Tuscany, in particular (façade marked by vertical soaring lines, strongly pointed triumph arch). Adorned by monumental paintings in the 15th century, it was described in 1589 by the apostolic visitor Monsignor Mascardi. It had three altars at that time: the high altar dedicated to Saint Jean-Baptiste; the second altar dedicated to the Virgin; the dedication of the third one is unspecified. The presence of a bell tower for a single bell, related to the church, was also mentioned. This part of the building, earlier than the 16th century, was destroyed in the 19th century.

The interior walls, particularly deprived of coating, show monumental paintings made a fresco. A noteworthy pictorial decoration dating from 1458 features the Doctors of the Church Saint Augustin, Saint Gregory, Saint Jérôme and Saint Ambroise, each of them holding a Bible on their laps, in addition to a representation of Saint Michael Archangel weighing the souls and vanquishing the devil, performed in 1448. Also, the walls of the triumph arch formerly supported a painting, by now erased.

The first restoration works documented with accuracy date from 1887. The nave roof was renovated with tiles, keeping the ancient slates for the apse cover only. The round arch without tympanum of the western door was replaced by a monolithic lintel. The two bays of the western façade were removed. In 1968, monumental paintings underwent restoration works, completed in 1989. The latest renovations date from 2009 and involve the whole building.

Coroneo Roberto, Chiese romaniche della Corsica. Architettura e scultura (XI-XIII secolo), Cagliari, 2006.
Coroneo Roberto, Architettura romanica dalla metà del mille al primo ‘300, Nuoro, 1993.
Moracchini-Mazel Geneviève, Les églises romanes de la Corse, T. 1, 2. Paris, 1967.