Le pitture della galleria superiore della cappella di S. Aquilino a Milano: i motivi e le tecniche nel loro spazio architettonico

[Autom. eng. transl.] The study and documentation of the existing frescoes began in 2015 and saw an intense research activity by scholars, which merged into the text entitled The paintings of the upper gallery of the chapel of S. Aquilino Milan: the motifs and techniques in their architectural space, which are expected to be published in the near future in a specifically dedicated archeology journal. The late antique paintings of the chapel have never been the subject of a monographic study; the goal was therefore to document and describe them in order to study, for the first time, the reasons and their meaning as well as the execution from a technical point of view. The painted walls and vaults were part of an articulated decorative system with clear Christological references also including mosaics, and were therefore also studied in relation to it, to finally investigate their functionality within the architectural context to which they belong. The walls imitate colored marble cladding slabs (which have been duly recognized) and the vaults simulate, instead, a coffered ceiling with painted animalistic symbols of which a first interpretation is offered in the text. We propose a dating within the 5th century AD. and numerous contemporary comparisons are supported. Although hardly visible from below, the paintings could perhaps have been enjoyed by an elite (military?) Who participated in the rite of depositio-consecratio of an emperor of which the sources do not explicitly mention. We intend to continue studying the subject from new points of view, such as the technical and scientific one (pigments used, archaeometric analyzes, etc.), also with the help of experts.