Medieval Lintel, Barlaam and Josapha Santa Fiora

Medieval door lintel in Via del Fondaccio, Santa Fiora, Grosseto, Tuscany. In this lintel is represented a man who climbs a tree to escape from wild beasts eating the roots of the tree. On the other side a dragon waits for the man to fall down. This very rare exemple of medieval basrelief may be dated to 14th c. on the basis of toolmarks, although it is not possible to affirm that the piece is in its original position, since the facade of the house is plastered and it is therefore not possible to place it stratigraphically. The subject represented comes from a chapter of the medieval 'novel' of Barlaam and Josaphat, a christian version of the life of Buddha who became progressively popular in Europe from the 10h c. onwards. In the scene, the tree represents mundane life and the wild animals represent time, consuming the roots of material life. The whole composition is an advice on impermanence of all material belongings. Model was created in Reality Capture using 48 photographs. The Mt. Amiata Project.