Santa MarÃa del Naranco, Oviedo ( Spain ) cover photo - 86089887

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Santa MarÃa del Naranco represented a step forward from a decorative point of view. The rich decoration is concentrated in the hall and miradors of the upper floor, where it is especially worth noting the cubic-prismatic capitals, of Byzantine influence, decorated with reliefs framed by cord decoration, from local tradition, in trapezoid and triangular shapes, inside which there are sculpted forms of animals and humans. This kind of motif is repeated on the disks with central medallions located above the blind arches` intersections. The 32 medallions distributed around the building are similar in size and shape, varying the decorative designs and the interior figures quadrupeds, birds, bunches of grapes, fantastic animals, a style inherited from the Visigoth period, in turn descended from Byzantine tradition. The medallions have decorative bands above them, again framed by rope moulding, inside which four figures are sculpted and arranged symmetrically; the upper two carrying loads on their heads and the lower two representing soldiers on horseback carrying swords. These figures seem to have some kind of symbolic social meaning; the warriors who defend and support the men of prayer, or alternatively, the royal and ecclesiastic orders complementing each other.

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