Euge serve bone et fideles. L’epitaffio di Gausoald vescovo di Como

The civic museum of Palazzo Volpi in Como keeps the funeral inscription of bishop Gausoald who probably died in the second quarter of the 8th century. The text, unfortunately, is incomplete and an integration has been attempted; it begins by citing an evangelical passage (Mt., 25, 21), then it indicates the virtues of the deceased, of noble lineage, who ruled the local church while remaining faithful to the divine dogma and fulfilling the gospel precepts. The text is inserted within a large frame decorated with vegetal branches, an ornamental modality that characterizes the courtly epigraphy of the 8th century. However, the relief is rather coarse and was probably carried out by a local stone-cutter, unable to reach the models he was inspired by.