Gates to Paradise: Creating metal doors for 11th-12th century churches

The last two weeks of March 2022 were dedicated to the documentation of the four bronze doors of the Amalfi coast: Amalfi, Atrani, Ravello and Salerno. While the door from Ravello was made by Barisano di Trani, the other three derive are of byzantine origin. Unfortunately, none of the doors still has the original wooden base; they were renewed during the 18th century and later. However: the first results of the chemical analyses are promising and will provide a closer insight into alloys used and production techniques applied. We are very much looking forward to the documentation of the doors from Trani and Monreale, in order to directly compare the models Barisano used for all three doors. To see images of our work in progress, follow us on twitter and instagram!