Rome churches and Cosmatesque decoration

Cosmatesque decoration of Rome's churches

Walking around Rome and visiting churches, your gaze may fall occasionally to the ground beneath you. Characteristic sampietrini, or cobblestones, line many of the streets adding to the picturesque quality of the scene. Inside many of the ancient churches, you will see the distinctive floors created by a group of Roman artists from the later Middle Ages called the Cosmati. These multi-colored geometric designs ornamented not only floors, but choirs, columns and exterior elements.

A section of the floor showing multiple designs

The term Cosmati refers to several families of artists, of which one, the Cosma, has given its name to the group. They worked mainly in the central part of Italy, especially in Rome and nearby regions, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. At that time, the popes were promoting a rebuilding of Rome’s churches to restore the grandeur of ancient times.

A patchwork of stars

Being surrounded by classical ruins and Byzantine influences, the Cosmati were able to create geometric designs with an amazing variety and precision. They placed small triangles and rectangles of colored stones and glass in defined areas, usually bordered by white marble. The most used colors were green and red, although the natural colors of yellow and other earth toned stones increase the diversity in the designs. The small sizes of some of the pieces is due to the fact that they were reusing fragments of ancient materials. 

A section with a porphyry disk

 

Some of the reddish elements are porphyry, a rare hard, purple-red stone, imported from Egypt, that was highly prized in antiquity for its distinct color. The medieval artists were able to repurpose it by cutting it into small pieces. The round disks were sliced from huge ancient columns.

San Clemente has some of the most varied floor designs

On vertical surfaces, mosaic bands may curl around columns or border an arch. Inside the church strips of geometric designs, usually stars, form borders around choirs or pulpits. Frequently the floor of the central nave is decorated with large red porphyry circles surrounded by curved bands of geometric patterns. The surrounding spaces are filled in with sections of varying designs, again separated by strips of white marble.

A column decorated by the Cosmati

Visiting the churches on the walks described in the book Walk Rome, you will see many of these examples. The condition of the floors in the churches varies, as some have seen significant restoration

A circular pattern, probably restored to its initial beauty

Examples of “cosmatesque” floors from Walk Two are those in San Crisogono, San Saba, Santa Maria in Trastevere and Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Additional examples are, San Clemente in Walk Three, Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Walk Seven. The floor of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican also has cosmatesque decoration.