Castelseprio, Santa Maria Foris Portas - Affreschi

The building dates back to a period between the 7th and 8th centuries.
Almost entirely stone built, the Church has an aula preceded by a wide rectangular atrium. There are U shaped apses on three sides: the one on the extremity of the building is original. The frescoes inside the church hold great artistic importance and they are conserved in the central apse. It is believed that they were created in the 7th-9th centuries by an oriental maestro who was an exponent of the Hellenistic-Roman culture. The frescoes represent scenes for Jesus' Childhood taken from the apograph gospels. The value of these frescoes is due to the fact that they are not only high in stylistic quality but they also represent a very rare example of the link between classical art and Hellenistic art.