Žminj, Chapel of St. Anthony

The Chapel of St. Anthony, formerly under the patronage of the eponymous confraternity, is located at the western entrance to Žminj. This single-nave church with an inscribed apse is vaulted with a pointed vault, while the lateral walls are articulated with a series of semi-circular niches. The facade features an oculus and a simple entrance portal. A Glagolitic inscription on the facade reveals that the church was built in 1381, naming Armirigus as the builder, who worked on the commission of Marin, Sladonich, and Teodor, likely members of the confraternity at the time.

In addition to well-preserved elements of Gothic architecture, the interior of the church is entirely covered with frescoes from the late 14^th century. The Coronation of the Virgin is depicted in the lunette of the apse’s back wall, while four figures of saints are placed within painted Gothic arcades in the lower register. On the vault of the apse, the Evangelists are painted with anthropomorphic bodies and zoomorphic heads. A procession of the confraternity is depicted on the northern wall of the apse, while three coats of arms appear on the southern part. The leftmost one, also the best-preserved, belongs to the Duino family, while the rightmost is the Habsburg coat of arms. The presence of these coats of arms indicates a possible connection of these families with the commissioning of the frescoes. The Annunciation scene is fragmentarily preserved on the triumphal arch. The iconographic program continues on the lateral walls, where the Adoration of the Magi is depicted within the niches of the southern wall, while the scenes of the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ are preserved in the niches of the northern wall. The nave vault is painted with eight scenes arranged in two registers, but due to poor preservation, only the scene of the Crucifixion remains recognizable. A personification of Death in the form of a corpse is depicted on the western wall, along with the Bosom of Abraham as an allegory of heavenly bliss. The formal and iconographic characteristics of the frescoes point to an anonymous painter whose expression relies on the Venetian trecento tradition. However, certain compositional solutions also reveal the influence of the late 14^th-century Sienese painting.

The first written record of the frescoes was provided by the Austrian conservator Anton Gnirs in 1914

Iconographic program:

Eastern wall: 1 Coronation of the Virgin, 2 Saint Anthony the Abbot, 3 Saint Peter, 4 Saint Paul, 5 Saint Augustine(?), 6–7 Four Evangelists, 8 Procession of the Confraternity, 9 Coats of Arms, 10 Annunciation. Southern wall: 11–12 Adoration of the Magi. Northern wall: 13 Resurrection, 14 Ascension of Christ. Western wall: 15 Death, 16 The Bosom of Abraham.