Discover Romanesque: Peoples and Legends

Raitus

A sculpted stoup was kept inside the Pieve di S. Giorgio di Brancoli until the year 2000, when it was stolen. Its author had left a double signature, either in Latin and in vernacular: Raito and Raitus me fecit. It conveyed the personality of those who took care of the church decoration and, probably, of its reconstruction as well, towards the end of the 11th century. Indeed, the stoup is similar to the capitals found in the interior, the small columns of the high altar and a further group of capitals, now conserved at the Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi in Lucca, coming from the parsonage of the same pieve. All of these works are marked by elements reminiscent of classic style and by references to sculptures of the Sant’Ambrogio in Milan. Consequently, this supports the hypothesis that they were made within the framework of an intense activity of building and artistic promotion fostered by the bishop from Milan, Anselmo da Baggio.