Municipal Lapidarium Rab

Address

Open for visitors

General Data

The municipal lapidarium housed in the church of St. Christopher (14^th c.) stores and displays a collection of stone monuments dating from the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD to the 18^th century. Among the 162 items, the most numerous are the examples of sculptural and architectural decorations, as well as stone interior decorations of the sacral and residential architecture of the city of Rab.

The display chronologically follows the historic and stylistic changes in the architecture of Rab, which is illustrated by a frieze of photographs of the most famous mediaeval and early modern monuments and typical urban themes.
 

The oldest artefact is a Roman figural relief that was once part of a tombstone from the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD. The early Christian period is represented by a sarcophagus dating to the 6^th century AD, while the period of the early Middle Ages is represented by fragments of stone liturgical furnishings from the former church of St. Martin (9^th century AD). The capitals with palmette and acanthus motifs stand out among the remains of the church of St. John the Evangelist (6^th and 11^th centuries AD). In the mid to late 15^th century, sculptor and architect Andrija Aleši built several Gothic and Renaissance spatial and sculptural ensembles; among the best preserved are parts of the Cernotta family chapel.

Rab architecture and sculpture from the late 15^th and the early 16^th century was marked by the works of Petar Trogiranin and his workshop. Consoles in the shape of lions’ heads and the coats of arms of Rab’s aristocratic families are distinguished by their particular quality.