Castelseprio Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity , and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages , before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287 . It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern " comune " of Castelseprio , near the modern village of the same name . It is in the north of Italy , in the Province of Varese , about 50 km northwest of Milan . The fame of Castelseprio lies in the Early Medieval frescoes contained in the small Church of " Santa Maria foris portas " . These frescoes are of exceptional rarity and artistic significance . Hidden for centuries , the frescoes were only rediscovered in 1944 . In 2011 , the church - and the castrum with the Torba Tower - became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy , Places of Power ( 568 - 774 A . D . ) . In 2006 , the Italian Ministry of Culture in a submission to UNESCO , said : History . Castelseprio originated as a Roman fort that commanded an important crossroad . During the early Middle Ages , the Lombards occupied the Roman fort , turning it into a fortified citadel or small town . At one point coins were minted there - a sign of its importance . The Church of " Santa Maria foris portas " ( " foris portas " meaning " outside the gates " in Latin ) which contains the famous frescoes , lay just outside the walls of the citadel . The early dedication of the church to Mary is an assumption ; the first documented mention of a church dedicated to Mary in Castelseprio ( which is assumed to be this one ) comes from the 13th century . The whole citadel was completely destroyed by Ottone Visconti , Archbishop of Milan , after he captured it in 1287 , to prevent it being used again by his rivals . Investigations into the church , which began in 1934 , finally uncovered the famous Byzantinesque frescoes below later plaster in 1944 . The whole area is now an archaeological zone containing the remains of the walls and of the much larger three - aisled 5th - century Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista . There is also a baptistry of the 5th to 7th centuries dedicated to St . John the Baptist . This has two fonts , perhaps for the use of different Rites , and is octagonal with a small apse to the east . A third Church of San Paolo has a central hexagonal plan and was built between the 6th and 12th centuries . There are some ruins left from the castle . Nearby is a large tower , once used as a convent . Frescoes . When the Church of Santa Maria foris portas was investigated in 1944 , it was found to contain , as well as later frescoes , a highly important and sophisticated cycle of fresco paintings showing very strong Byzantine influence . The dating of the frescoes and the origin of their painter or painters remain controversial , although the first half of the 9th century seems to be emerging as the most likely date . Subject . The Byzantinesque frescoes are located around the curved wall of the apse , and the inward surface of the arch between the apse and the main body of the church . The condition of the frescoes is variable ; some parts are well - preserved whilst others are missing completely , or barely visible . Much of the painted area has been pitted to provide a key for the subsequent plastering - over ( see the lower area in the middle of the Presentation scene ) . The subjects of the missing or fragmentary scenes are a matter of some scholarly controversy with some writers proposing that these scenes made up a cycle on the " Life of the Virgin " , and others one on the " Life of Christ " . Both proposals are described below . The frescoes are in three registers , the middle register being interrupted by three arched windows . They represent a cycle of the Nativity of Christ and may also have represented early aspects of the Life of Mary , or of Christ . The lowest register has a decorative frieze below which there are a few remains in the centre showing painted curtain railings and religious symbols . This register may not have contained figures . The upper and middle registers contain narrative paintings . The cycle may have been part of a larger scheme of decoration which once included the outer face of the arch and the other walls of the church . Upper register of narratives : Then , on the curved wall of the apse , reading left to right : Middle Register On the curved wall , reading from right to left : Fragmentary remains of two frescoes which may have been : On the two inner faces of the apsidal arch : Chronological sequence The alternative chronological sequences of the ten narrative scenes would run as follows : In the Marian version the three missing scenes come at the start of the story , rather than the end . Neither sequence follows a consistent chronological sequence on the wall . Joseph ' s ( first ) dream and the trial by bitter water come chronologically between the Annunciation and the Visitation . The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple should , according to Leviticus have happened on the fortieth day after the birth . The timing of the visit of Magi is not mentioned in the Gospel s , and apochryphal writings placed it between seven days and two years after the Nativity . The Eastern church , and by the Gothic period the Western church also , at least in art , placed it very soon after the birth , so that the Magi , like the shepherds , are included in Nativity scenes themselves . At this date , however , the Western church tended to place the arrival of the Magi later , though certainly before the Flight to Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents . Some departure from chronology to enable thematic or typological connections to be emphasised is a common feature of medieval picture cycles . The Marian interpretation . Some scholars , notably P . D . Leveto , interpret the cycle as being " Marian " , that is , part of the Life of Mary , rather than specifically representing those scenes associated with the Nativity . Evidence for this interpretation is the presence of the rarely - depicted scene of the " Trial by Bitter Water " . With this interpretation , the three missing narrative scenes would have had a different content , and the sequence itself would be differently ordered , moving from the left - hand side of the arch to the first two scenes of the lower register , through the top register and then to lower right - hand scenes and finishing with the Magi scene on the opposite side of the arch . In this proposed arrangement , the two scenes of the Birth and Presentation at the Temple of Mary are visually balanced with each other , whilst the Presentation and the Trial by water above it are both concerned with Mary ' s virginity . Also balanced are the two scenes of offerings on either side of the arch wall ; in both cases the figures are placed to make their offerings away from the empty arched space , to keep the visual attention focused within the apse . Style . It is thought by some scholars , including Leveto , that two different hands can be detected , but the origins of these artists are uncertain and subject to speculation . The frescoes are sophisticated , expressive and confident . The artists adapt traditional compositional types to the particular site without strain or disproportion . Poses are natural and rhythmic , and the whole has " a great ardor and conviction , an intense response to the human meaning of the subject " ( Schapiro ) . While some aspects of the frescoes , notably the iconography , are clearly Byzantine , others may draw on the Christian art of Syria or Egypt . The frescoes also have significant aspects which relate most closely to the late antique art of Italy . Several of the buildings are successfully foreshortened , and the relationship between buildings and figures is more effectively managed than in most Byzantine painting . The painting is done with unusual freedom compared to most Byzantine work ; it is this feature in particular which relates to much earlier works from the late antiquity such as paintings found in the catacombs of Rome . Some art historians see the style as coming from the tradition of Alexandria , from which no other painting on a similar scale remains . John Beckwith is somewhat less enthusiastic than some art historians , describing the frescos as " wholly competent " and worthy of comparison with 7th century works in Rome He believed the " drapery folds . . . a complex series of angular ridges emphasized by highlights . . . make a decidedly metallic impression , and betray the copyist , who foreshadows in a disturbing way tenth - century mannerisms " . Dating . In 1950 , soon after the frescoes were first discovered , a poll of the scholars who attended a conference in Castelseprio showed a rough split between dates in the 7th and 10th century , although the extreme range of dates that have been suggested stretches from the 6th to the 14th century - an almost unprecedented range in medieval art history . Since that time , the range of possible dates has narrowed significantly . Radio - carbon dating of timber and thermoluminescent dating of roof tiles suggest that the church was built in the early to mid - ninth century . While providing a reasonably sound date for the church structure , this can only be " terminus post quem " for the frescoes , which may have been added later . However , the rough finish on the interior stonework leads many scholars to believe that the frescoes were added as part of the original building programme . A " terminus ante quem " was provided by the discovery of graffiti scratched into the fresco plaster recording a number of clerical appointments , the earliest of which is dated ( by the name of the presiding Archbishop of Milan ) to 948 at the latest . Many writers feel that a certain interval must have elapsed after the painting of the cycle before the clergy would have treated the paintings in this way . Many art historians have pointed to a relationship between the frescoes and two closely related manuscripts , namely the " Joshua Roll " ( Vatican Library , Ms palatine gr . 431 ) and the " Paris Psalter " ( Bibliothèque nationale de France Ms Grec . 139 ) . However , the dating of both manuscripts is likewise controversial . The art historians Kurt Weitzmann and Meyer Schapiro agreed that the artistic quality of the frescoes is superior to that of either manuscript . Kurt Weitzmann preferred a date shortly before 945 , and postulated a connection with a marriage between a Lombard princess and a Byzantine prince , which took place in 944 . He favoured as the artist an unknown Constantinopolitan artist , trained in the same workshop as the artists of the two manuscripts , on a visit in connection with the marriage . Schapiro preferred a date between the 7th and 9th centuries , in 1957 settling on the 8th century . Most recent writers , relying on the analysis of the timber and roof tiles mentioned above , prefer the first half of the 9th century . Some writers believe the work may have been done by Greek refugees long settled in Italy , or by Italians trained by such artists . Others believe that artists fresh from the Byzantine world were responsible . Aspects of the works . Almost every aspect of the frescoes , from the clothing to the treatment of the " nimbus " or halo around the infant Christ , has been analysed and compared to other works in great detail . Some examples are :