Novigrad Lapidary, bell tower of the parish church of St. Pelagia and Maxima, Novigrad
Investor
City of Novigrad
Category
Castels, Palaces and Fortresses
The Novigrad Lapidary with a unique collection of 93 stone monuments from the ancient and medieval periods is located on the ground floor of the Rigo Palace from the 15th to 18th centuries. The most important part of the collection are the early medieval stone monuments, among which Maurici's ciborium from the end of the 8th century stands out. It is one of the rare examples of Carolingian art in this area, which speaks of the role of Novigrad as the seat of the early Frankish administration during the time of Charlemagne, thus testifying to the importance of Istria and Croatia in the Western European context of the time. Bell tower of the parish church of St. Pelagia and Maxim was built by the Giorgia Giurco family business in 1883. This free-standing bell tower is 45 m high and is entirely built of carved stone blocks. In the lower zone, it is broken up by semi-circular doors and strengthened by buttress walls. The body of the belfry is divided by three narrow windows and the quadrant of the city clock and three horizontal cornices. The bell lodge is opened with trifora, and above it rises the pyramidal cap of the belfry modelled after that of St. Mark in Venice. At the very top of the pyramid is the statue of St. Pelagia, installed in 1913, made of wood and covered with bronze sheet.
Scaffolding with a total height of 42 m, the upper 13 m adjusted to the shape of the belfry pyramid, enabled access and restoration of the statue of St. Pelagia on top of the bell tower. The damaged stone blocks of the pyramid crowns were dismantled and replaced with suitable aged blocks, and the weakened places were injected with epoxy injection compound. The outer surfaces of the tower walls are protected with a hydrophobic coating.