Shielding the Vault of Heaven. Cultural and Historical Considerations Regarding the Starry Sky on the Ceilings of Italian Medieval Churches

This paper examines, from a cultural history perspective and as an introduction to this book’s subject, the symbolic significance of the starry sky decorations that adorn the ceilings of many sacred buildings. I will be looking, in particular, at the Italian context and the period between the fifth and the early sixteenth century. Contrary to being a mere decorative feature, this theme inspired artists and their patrons to attempt to imitate the Creator’s work by evoking the heavenly vault within the church microcosm. This study examines this cultural paradigm diachronically, as a gradual ‘vernacularisation’ of religious messages which brought resonance to the celestial dimension of sacredness