by Roberto Malini
Pesaro, an ancient city in the Marche overlooking the Adriatic, houses a priceless jewel in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. It is the cycle of mosaics discovered in the second half of the 19th century under the floor of the temple, two overlapping mosaic carpets, which have handed down to us the original basilica, probably built in the 2nd century and the one rebuilt on the same site in medieval times. The two mosaic floors allow us to admire scenes created between 4th and 13th centuries AD, giving ancient history enthusiasts and tourists an emotion that crosses time and historical events.
The new mosaic window, just inaugurated, allows you to admire a portion of the immense artistic heritage hidden for centuries. However, the diocesan Curia has announced ambitious plans to make both layers of mosaics visible, thus revealing still-buried treasures that date back to the first centuries of the Christian era.
Among the most significant works, clearly visible today through the new anti-reflective windows, the 11th century mosaic cycle stands out, a true journey into the Greek epic. In this work, full of references to the Iliad, the mosaicists have expressed the myth of the ship that brought the attractive Helen to Troy, with Helen herself about to be taken aboard the bireme. The vessel proudly raises a banner depicting the eagle, a symbol of royal power, recalling the majesty of ancient ships.
Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, was promised by Aphrodite to Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy. Helen’s abduction by Paris, who took her to her city aboard a ship full of heroes, triggered the Trojan War, narrated by Homer in the first of his epic poems.
In an astonishing detail, the Pesaro mosaic cycle seems to depict Homer himself, the blind singer, next to the figure of Helen. Furthermore, you can admire the figures of Achilles and Ajax engaged in a game of Petteia or Kubeia, ancient board games similar to chess, the first evidence of which dates back to vase paintings from the 6th century BC
This extraordinary recovery of ancient imagery undoubtedly enhances the artistic and cultural heritage that the city of Pesaro possesses, a heritage that is enhanced precisely in the mosaics jealously guarded in the Cathedral. The mosaic carpets, true treasures of antiquity, transport us on a fascinating journey that places particular accents on the Homeric epic, further enriching the Italian artistic heritage and offering a unique insight into the classical suggestions also present in the Middle Ages.
In the photos, two sections of the Trojan cycle
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