Valamar Blog

We continue where we left off in the post “Porec – Euphrasian basilica (part 1)”. So, what did the UNESCO crew together with profesor Ernest Bacher in the leading role examine and assess in the old Euphrasiana? The team of the UNESCO experts came to Porec in order to have a look at absolutely everything in Euprasiana, even the smallest, to a layman’s eye hardely noticeable, details of an important document of time. Euphrasiana is exactly that, a witness of time, well to be exact, a witness of 16 centuries of Christianity on this area and every detail that bears witness to it is extremely important for the recounting of the whole story.

In order to understand the importance of Euphrasiana to its whole extent, we need to look at it from different angles, examine it from the historical, cultural, religious and aesthetic point of view. By entering these spheres, new doors will open up for us, new insights, new contexts, and each in its own way will excite our imagination further.

While the most visitors in Euphrasian Basilica marvel at the legendary mosaics (in the picture) that originate from the times of the prosecution of the Christians (4th century), we turn your attention to the main apse of the cathedral where one can see an extraordinary artifact of time that profesor Bacher and his crew marvelled at even more – the cathedral plaster!

People who visited Porec and Euphrasiana in the same period when the conservators’ were in the Euphrasiana, tell some interesting stories, according to which the main conservator devoted more time to observing this plaster than the famous mosaic. Now, why is this plaster so important? Instead of giving you the answer, I will quote Ivan Matejcic, a conservator from Rijeka, who when refering to this, wrote: “Every expert and scientist regards a monument primarily as a book that provides him with information from the past, and secondary as a cultural attraction”. The book, of course – the older it gets, the more valuable it is, especially if an unknown artist had written one of the pages with his trowel on the wall of this building, some 15 centuries ago. In such context, you will agree, even a simple plaster gains importance and great value.

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