Polychrome Marbles in Christian Churches: Examples from the Antependium of Baroque Altars in Apulia (Southern Italy)

Abstract

The antependia, realized in polychrome marbles during the Baroque period in two Christian churches of Apulia (Southern Italy), were on-site petrographically investigated by the naked eye to obtain information regarding the types of used rocks; the precision in the making of the marble tesserae was also assessed. Most of the polychrome marbles recognized were taken from buildings and monuments realized during the Roman imperial period; other marbles quarried during the Baroque period, mainly from Italian geological outcrops, were also identified. The precision in the execution of the tesserae is generally very high and depends not only on the skill of the marble worker but also on the lithotype.

Keywords

• polychrome marbles
• <i>opus sectile</i>
• antependium
• altars
• Baroque period
• petrographic investigations