One of the greatest glories of the town of Korcula—a pretty glorious place in most regards—are the carvings on the main façade of the cathedral. They count among the most impressive artistic achievements of the entire medieval age along the Dalmatian coast. They amaze me for both their actual sculptural quality as well as for their outlandish inventiveness.
In September of 2007 I caught the cathedral in spectacular light at the very end of the day—that honeyed light for which Dalmatia is so famous. My photos turned out quite well, and you can get a great look at these carvings, many of them executed by local artisans (not ones imported from Italy, which was more common).
Korcula cathedral photo 1
In the first photo you get a good overall look at both the traceried rose window, the wonderful carvings on the cornice, and the bell tower. In the bottom left of the photo, notice the serpent at the corner of the cathedral façade: the cornice decoration actually bursts out of the creature’s mouth, so in fact the entire roofline is really an ornamented representation of a serpent’s tongue.
Korcula cathedral photo 2
The next photo gives a good look at the peak of the cornice, crowned by a floral finial. Beneath the finial, notice the carving of a woman in 14th century fashions. You can also see the pattern of beast heads alternating with scallop shells in pointed arches.
Korcula cathedral photo 3
I really love the work in the next photo. To the right you see the carvings of the corner of the cathedral façade; notice the bizarre long-nosed monster at the top, above the human face and the serpent head whose tongue forms the cornice. Just below the human face is a wonderful devil’s head—though it has horns, this face looks like a cross between a pig and a dog to me. The little arches to the right and left of the devil’s head are reminiscent of a typical Venetian Gothic arch. Notice also the clock in the tower, with the orb showing the phase of the moon.
Korcula cathedral photo 4
The last picture shows some of the carvings around the main cathedral doors. Though I didn’t manage to get them in the same miraculous sunset light, you can still get a good view of the beautifully detailed medieval representation of a lion. The lion has another creature in its claws; it almost looks like another lion, though a lamb would be more typical given medieval symbolism. Beneath the lion that’s what I think is a rather dirty image of Eve, really letting it all hang out.
Do you have any favorite churches or art along the Adriatic coast?
