Qualla: Modena Cathedral https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/z/v/modena-cathedral-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Modena Cathedral https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral Modena Cathedral: Introduction https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral/ Photo credit Username.Ruge, CC BY-SA 4.0. Carved into the marble archivolt above the north portal of Modena Cathedral, King Arthur charges on horseback with his lance leveled. The inscription identifies him as 'Artus de Bretania.' Beside him ride Yder, Gawain, and Kay, battling to rescue Guinevere -- here called 'Winlogee' -- from a castle defended by the pickaxe-wielding 'Burmaltus.' Dated to sometime between 1120 and 1140, this carving may be the earliest monumental sculpture depicting the Arthurian legend anywhere in Europe. It predates the great written Arthurian romances by decades. That it appears not in Britain or France but on a cathedral in the Po Valley tells you something essential about Modena Cathedral: this building has always been full of surprises.

Read more: Modena Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Username.Ruge | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/z/v/modena-cathedral-wp/spzv-modena-cathedral-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Modena Cathedral: A Saint Beneath the Stones https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral/ Photo credit FrDr, CC BY-SA 4.0. Two earlier churches stood on this site from the 5th century onward. The discovery of the burial site of Saint Geminianus, Modena's patron saint, prompted their demolition and replacement. An architect known as Lanfranco -- about whom virtually nothing else is recorded -- designe...

Read more: Modena Cathedral on Qualla

Image: FrDr | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/z/v/modena-cathedral-wp/spzv-modena-cathedral-a-saint-beneath-the-stones.mp3 0:06 2 full Modena Cathedral: Wiligelmus and the Biblical Facade https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral/ Photo credit Marie Thérèse Hébert & Jean Robert Thibault from Québec, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0. The cathedral's exterior is a gallery of medieval sculpture. Wiligelmus, a contemporary of Lanfranco, carved the facade's most celebrated reliefs: portraits of prophets and patriarchs, and above all, the Biblical Stories -- scenes depicting the creation of Adam and Eve, original ...

Read more: Modena Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Marie Thérèse Hébert & Jean Robert Thibault from Québec, Canada | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/z/v/modena-cathedral-wp/spzv-modena-cathedral-wiligelmus-and-the-biblical-facade.mp3 0:06 3 full Modena Cathedral: Arthur at the Fish Market Door https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral/ Photo credit Username.Ruge, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Porta della Pescheria -- the fish market portal on the cathedral's north side -- is the source of Modena's greatest art-historical puzzle. The lintel carries carvings of a cross, birds, animals, and a man riding a hippocamp. But it is the archivolt above that has fascinated s...

Read more: Modena Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Username.Ruge | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/z/v/modena-cathedral-wp/spzv-modena-cathedral-arthur-at-the-fish-market-door.mp3 0:06 4 full Modena Cathedral: A Tenor's Farewell https://qualla.com/modena-cathedral/ Photo credit Sergius08, CC BY-SA 3.0. The interior divides into three naves, its proportions emphasizing the verticality that Romanesque architecture could achieve before Gothic pointed arches carried the eye even higher. Between the central nave and the crypt, a marble parapet by Anselmo da Campione portrays the Pas...

Read more: Modena Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Sergius08 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/z/v/modena-cathedral-wp/spzv-modena-cathedral-a-tenors-farewell.mp3 0:06 5 full