endlessrarities | Hidden Treasures From Ravello

Okay. Please forgive me - I'm going to indulge in some serious carved stone geekdom now. I'm going to devote an entire post to one carved capital...

Other news. I have a cold. This means I will not be riding my bike tomorrow, however good the weather is. And after the doing I had at horse-riding tonight, perhaps it's just as well, because I'm shattered. Oh, and Squinty the blackbird is so impressed by Mark Cavendish's performance in the Tour that she's decided to opt for the Manx look. Her tail is no longer squint - it's now missing. What on earth has she been up to???? In all other respects, she remains her usual indomitable self. And her two babies are looking plusher and sleeker with every passing day.

Now it's carved stone time. I looked at this, and I fell in love. Unlike all these weird mosaics, this made me feel right at home, because it's typical of the Romanesque period. It reminded me of the carved corbels that decorate the exterior of Kilpeck Church in Herefordshire, which - if you haven't visited it already - is well worth checking out. The misericords are good, too.

So, without further ado:-

Now, I suspect that the cathedral church had a makeover in the late medieval period, and the early capitals were replaced by some, more classy, Classical examples, which still remains today. But between you and me, I think I prefer this one, because it has real character!!!

Now, observant followers of this blog will notice that the lion has a deer stuffed into its mouth. Yes, it's another example of blatant sado-masochistic art, manifesting itself in the form of animal cruelty. But this time, instead of going 'Eugh! How sick is that???!!", my response is 'Awww! Isn't that cute???' This is, of course, a blatant case of hypocrisy, but... Hey ho, that's the way it is.

This little carving was just one piece in a marvellous collection of carved stones and other items, all hidden away in the crypt or undercroft of the cathedral church, and accessed via a little passageway. The carvings were just as exquisite in their own way as the mosaics in the ambos that I featured in earlier posts, and for that reason, I'll be making a return visit to this collection tomorrow.