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Ser Agilulfo da Feltre
This miniature is a tribute to my hometown. Feltre is located about halfway between Venice and Cortina d'Ampezzo, north-eastern Italy. It's part of Belluno province, in Veneto region. Archeological finds proof evidences of a Roman settlement at least since the second century a.d. In the middle ages several barbaric invasions took place so, in order to get some protection, in 1404 Feltre eventually allied with Venice, which was at that time a really powerful presence in the mediterranean sea. If you want to go deeper, here u can find more informations about local history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feltre The history of my hometown is very rich and it gave me a lots of interesting ideas. I couldn't find enough datas to paint an historical character, so I made up one. As a side note, Ser Agilulfo is the protagonist of an Italian novel called "The Nonexistent Knight" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nonexistent_Knight ), that's the reason of my choice for the name of our knight. I my mind, I imagined an errant knight from Feltre, who travelled far in the whole Veneto to attend chivalry tourneys. During these contests, he would boast proudly the insignias of his city and its history. Let me now describe and explain what all these heraldries mean. Knight: The shield: this is the heraldic image of Feltre accompanied by our motto:"Nec spe nec metu" ( http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Feltre-Stemma.png ). The two towers represent Feltre itself and Venice, tied together as strong allies. Front of the breasplate: the lion of Saint Mark, protector of Venice ( http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/f/ff/Venezia-Stemma.png ). More about it later. Back of the breasplate: heraldic image of the city of Belluno: ( http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/archive/4/48/20090613202921!Belluno-Stemma.png ). Horse (saurus): Front right: this is the heraldic image of the province of Belluno. It's composed by its three most important cities: Feltre on the left (see shield), Belluno in the middle (see the back of the knight) and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Interesting note about this last symbol: the two towers represent Cortina and Venice. They are bound together by an iron chain aroung a pine tree. This is because Cortina, as Feltre, was under the control of Venice, asking protection in exchange of wood needed by venetian ship builders. Front left: these are S.Victor and Corona, Saints protectors of Feltre. Here's the lore about these unlucky martyrs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_and_Corona . The source of the painting is an affresco in their church: ( http://www.google.it/imgres?imgurl=http://www2.diocesi.it/bellunofeltre/images/santivittorecorona1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www2.diocesi.it/bellunofeltre/ssvittorecorona.html&h=304&w=202&sz=22&tbnid=_ULCXlcVjN3l1M:&tbnh=92&tbnw=61&zoom=1&usg=__ybCmmCT4eqxRkYLCKWWZZhOJdaU=&docid=yYqv8JjV-FUH-M&sa=X&ei=55XTUevvD4fBOL2BgcgG&ved=0CEoQ9QEwBQ&dur=110 ) Rear right: this affresco is painted in Feltre town hall : (http://www.ilfondacoperfeltre.eu/userfiles/image/stemmi%20small.JPG). Here again is the symbolic representation of S. Mark, protector of Venice, as a winged lion. The face has an human look. It carries a book bearing the latin words:"peace to you Mark, my evangelist". Rear legs are rooted into the sea, where Venice rises. Front legs point the mountains, and that town on the top of the hill is Feltre. Knights are battling under the body of the Saint representing the power on earth while mighty ships represent Venice dominion in the Mediterranean sea. Rear left: These 4 symbols are the contrades of Feltre. If you go on top of the old citadel, in the exact middle of the main square, you can draw two imaginary lines: North-south and East-west. These lines divide the whole town and surroundings in four districts. In the 14th century, each one of these sectors was controlled by a noble family, whose heraldry is today still remebered every year by a celebration called Palio di Feltre, where the contrades battle each other in four trials: running around the city walls, archery contest, rope pulling and the horse race. Belt of glyphs: All around the horse's barding are represented 15 heraldic symbols of various cities in Veneto. In my vision, Ser Agilulfo travelled in these cities where he defeated his opponents. these cities are (starting from the white and black one in front right and going clock wise): Santa Maria di Sala - Vittorio Veneto - Pedavena Padova - Rovigo - Verona - Villafranca VR - Treviso Asolo - Schio - Valdagno - Vicenza Canale d'Agordo - Ponzano - Mel The stars pattern: during his journey to Padova, ser Agilulfo visited the beautiful Cappella degli Scrovegni, where he was fascinated by Giotto's affrescoes (like I was) : ( http://i15.tinypic.com/66l0tw3.jpg ). The base is simple due to commissioner's request
Posted: 4 Jul 2013
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