Grobnice v nekdanji cerkvi sv. Katarine v Piranu

slovenian

2009

volume 19, issue 2

Zgodovinsko društvo za južno Primorsko
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Conservational research of the former church of St. Catherine in the present day Minorite Monastery of St. Francis in Piran has been performed in the scope of the Institute for Mediterranean Heritage SRC of the University of Primorska. In the district of Piran ascending from the mandrachio along the present day Bolniška street traces of Roman settlement have been found. Several "extra-muros" churches have been built there during the 13th and 14th centuries, then a special importance was assigned to the area with the erection of the Franciscan Monastery. The latter was supposedly built right next to the church of St. Catherine, though this has not (previously) been proven by any substantial evidence or written documents. Some elements like the semi-circular apse and the pointed-arch windows testify that the building itself is very old, but has been remodeled several times since its erection. The church has served as a burial ground where some Piran families - the Furegons are mentioned in written sources - would bury their deceased. It has also served as the seat of the brotherhood bearing the same name. The church was probably abolished in the beginning of the 19th century and was later relinquished to the municipality and attached to the neighbouring school building. The archaeological research mentioned above took place in 2003 and 2006, then in the summer and autumn of 2009 the greater part of the former church has been studied systematically. Three tombs were found within the remains of the brick pavement, which are in the central focus of the present article. The two tombs at the north wall have been damaged and emptied during the remodelling that took place in the "school" period. They were built simultaneously and had a common intermediate wall and a frame, which might have been used and restored at a later date. The covers were only preserved to a lesser extent. The breaking wheel - the symbol of St. Catherine of Alexandria - was carved in the plate of the west tomb, so we assumed that we are dealing with the tomb of the brotherhood bearing her name. The eastern tomb was decorated with a coat of arms attributed to the Furegon family of Piran and can also be associated with the related, yet earlier De Preto family. The carving of the coat of arms had partially erased an older inscription, which is probably funerary as well. The central tomb was found intact, though a part of its cover was cracked because of the material mounded on top of it. The same occurrence had happened before - the cover was already partially replaced in the 17th century. The cover, composed of two parts, thus contains two epitaphs dedicated to the family of Peter De Preta (from 1539) and Jacob de Preta (from 1645). Between the tombs and the church walls "trench graves" were dug into the church floor, where bones from the cemetery in front of the church and also some deceased were buried. Like the grave at the south wall of the central tomb, these trenches are younger then the tombs. The layer of bones, buried in the old semi-circled presbytery before it was torn down and walled up, however, is older. The oldest grave lies at the foundation of the wall running in north-east direction under the former church of St. Catherine, which was a part of some older, perhaps even Roman building. The wall and the grave were traversed during the building of the north church wall. Archaeological findings concerning the construction of tombs along with some small finds and osteological material offer a firm basis for multidisciplinary research, which, supplemented with the analysis of epigraphic and written sources, could illuminate the relationship of the local community towards death and burial from numerous aspects. At the same time, the several tombs still preserved or rediscovered call for a systematic treatise, which would improve our understanding of the development of this form of burial in the wider area of Istria and the North Adriatic coast during the late medieval and early modern times.

10.11.2011