Bread, wine and shrimp
The church, dating back to the second half of the 15th century, is alive and bright inside thanks to the frescoes by Cristoforo II of the Baschenis family, artists from the Bergamo valleys who between the 15th and 16th centuries worked in a variety of churches in Eastern Trentino, from Val di Sole to Val Rendena.
In the centre of the vault of the presbytery you can admire Christ Pantocrator, flanked by the Doctors of the Church. In the apse stands out a large Crucifixion, while the left wall depicts the Last Supper.
And we want to focus precisely on this particular painting.
On the table, between one dish and another, we see many deep red shrimp. An unusual food that often appears in the works of the Baschenis.
From a historical point of view, freshwater crayfish were a common food on medieval tables, in this as in other areas of Trentino. However, there is a symbolic meaning that is still partly mysterious.
According to the most widely accepted theory, backward-walking shrimp represent the passage from death to Resurrection, while the intense red is a harbinger of the flagellation and Crucifixion of Christ. There is also a theory, however, that associates the crustacean’s backward walking with Judas and the heretics, who, with their behaviour, distance themselves from the teachings of Christ.
Though perhaps in doubt, let’s nevertheless enjoy the beauty of the frescoes.
