My last day in Switzerland was a treat. First we drove down to two churches, one very old and one very new. The church of St. Martin at Zillis has one of only three surviving Romanesque painted ceilings in Europe - at nearly nine hundred years old, it's the oldest too. Inside a boundary of imaginary sea creatures (notice the elephant on the left!) are cycles of the life and miracles of
Jesus, the life of Mary, and of the church's patron saint St. Martin. 153 panels in all! It's like a vision of higher time just above.
The Steinkirche (Stone Church) of the Reformed congregation at Cazis, barely a decade old, made a nice contrast. This church is designed
to convey a sense of safety and also of freedom. Safety is conveyed
through its light-filled womblike chambers with no hard edges, no front or back, east or west; freedom is felt through the constantly changing light from the windows, which reach out to sky, horizon and the human world. Aside from a small abstract cross and two vases of flowers, no decoration - and none needed.
My last day in Switzerland was a treat. First we drove down to two churches, one very old and one very new. The church of St. Martin at Zillis has one of only three surviving Romanesque painted ceilings in Europe - at nearly nine hundred years old, it's the oldest too. Inside a boundary of imaginary sea creatures (notice the elephant on the left!) are cycles of the life and miracles of
Jesus, the life of Mary, and of the church's patron saint St. Martin. 153 panels in all! It's like a vision of higher time just above.
The Steinkirche (Stone Church) of the Reformed congregation at Cazis, barely a decade old, made a nice contrast. This church is designed 
to convey a sense of safety and also of freedom. Safety is conveyed 
through its light-filled womblike chambers with no hard edges, no front or back, east or west; freedom is felt through the constantly changing light from the windows, which reach out to sky, horizon and the human world. Aside from a small abstract cross and two vases of flowers, no decoration - and none needed.
