| The church of San Salvatore in Sanarica is one of the few existing buildings of Byzantine rite that have not undergone significant change throughout the ages. It is rectangular in shape with no decoration on the walls and a small bell tower at the top of the façade. The church has three naves with three apses at their ends. In the central apse originally there was a double lancet window whereas in the two smaller side apses a single lancet window.These were used as the prothesis, the area where the bread and wine for Byzantine Eucharistic Liturgy were prepared, and as the diaconicon, the area where liturgical treasures were kept. Above the arches of the central nave there are still some fragments of a Christological cycle where you can see, starting from the apse, the image of Joseph’s back and the Washing of the Child, attended by two wet-nurses, part of a Nativity scene. In the main apsidal basin there is a scene from the Transfiguration, which can be dated from the late 1300s. In the centre of a bright background, Christ is dressed in white and accompanied by the bearded figures (of which now only the bust remains) of Moses and Elijah, portrayed hand in hand. Above the apsidal arch is a star-studded blue sky and what remains of a circular Gloria with a red background and some symbolic winged animals. It is most likely to have been the vision of the Ancient of Days, or the shape that God took to reveal himself to the prophet Daniel. Under the arches is the figure of a Bishop saint in the act of blessing; opposite is the figure of a monk saint with a long beard, white cloak and with his hands turned up. After this, on the pillar, there is another figure of a monk whereas on the underface of the pillar two layers of paint can be glimpsed. In the arches of the pillars in the part of the wall near the left apse is the figure of a bishop saint, frescoed in the modern period. In the part under the arch opposite there is another figure of a bearded and cloaked monk saint. |