Kotor St Tryphon's Cathedral                             Pictures of Montenegro

Architecture of the St Tryphon's cathedral

St Tryphon's Cathedral, in spite of reconstruction over the centuries, remains an outstanding example of romanesque architecture. After the catastrophic eartquake of 1667 destroyed the west front, replacement belltowers in warm Korcula stone added a baroque aspect. They are connected by a wide balustrated arch spanning the porch surmounted with a distinctive rose window. To the right of the main entrance is the sarcophagus of Andrea Saracenis, who built the earlier church, and of his wife Maria, with a 9th centery inscription. But the central future of the lofty interior is the ciberium of the high altar, a masterpiece of romanesque Gothic workmanschip. Four columns of red Kamenari marble support a three-tier octagonal construction crowned by an angel. Scenes depicting the life of St Tryphon are carved on each tier. In the apse and in the vaults of the nave look for traces of recently uncovered frescos. Their 14th-century origin is proven, but it is unclear whether the Byzantine-influenced painters were Greek or Serbian. Originally all the walls were covered with frescos.

The interior of the St Tryphon Cathedral

The bones of St Tryphon were brought from Constantinople in the 9th century. Now they are kept in the 14th-century reliquary chapel where there is a frieze of white marble, the work of 18th-century Venetian sculptor Fransesco Cabianca, quite exquisite in its details, even to the nails in the hooves of the horses. But most stirring is a large wooden crucifix, its image not quickly forgotten and mystifying in that its provenance is another unknown. Tradition has its St Tryphon was a gooseherd in Phrygia, martyred as a young boy for his refusal to make an offering in front of the statue of the Roman emperor.

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