Parapet

The group of sculptors and architects, who were active in northern Italy and elsewhere from the mid-12th century to the late 14th and originated from Campione (Campigliono) di Lugano, has been termed “Campionesi” in the 19th century.

The earliest document mentioning the masters from Campione is a contract dated 30 November 1244 between Ubaldino, Director (Massaro) of the Cathedral Works of Modena from 1230 to 1263, and Enrico di Ottavio da Campione, who undertook, on behalf of himself and his heirs, to work for the cathedral in perpetuum. This contract was a renewal of an earlier one drawn up between Alberto, Director from 1190 to 1208, and Anselmo, the grandfather of Enrico. The names of Anselmo’s three sons, Alberto, Jacopo, and Ottavio (father of Enrico), are also cited in the document. From the chronology it can be deduced that in the second half of the 12th century a master from Campione named Anselmo was installed as Master of the Works at the Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1184.

A document dated 1261 mentions that the workshop of the Campionesi was situated on cathedral property between the church and the Ghirlandina bell-tower, but there are no documents allocating responsibility for particular works within the cathedral to a specific master. The marble parapet between the central nave and the crypt (also considered as rod screen) is unanimously attributed to Anselmo and his collaborators; Anselmo himself is credited with the Passion scenes, from Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples to Christ Carrying the Cross. The work of four collaborators can also be identified on the screen. Other works at the cathedral attributed to Anselmo’s followers are the pulpit (erected under Bozzalino, Director from 1208 to 1225), the altar, the crypt capitals, work on the fa�ade, including the rose window, and the Porta Regia (1209–31) on the south flank of the nave, which has a porch supported by two columns of ophite, one twisted and the other hexagonal, a characteristic feature of later works by the Campionesi. The last of these masters active at Modena was Enrico II, who completed the Ghirlandina bell-tower (1319) and the free-standing pulpit in the nave (1322).