Oprtalj, Church of St Mary

The single-nave church of St Mary was built in the fifteenth century near the northern entrance to Oprtalj. The structure is characterised by a simple rectangular ground plan with a flat eastern termination, and a bell gable with two bells rises above the façade. The original Gothic structure was significantly altered in 1770, when the church was heightened and extended westward, the sanctuary was partitioned, and a porch (lopica) was added at the entrance.

Wall paintings have been preserved in the interior on the north and south walls, as well as on the triumphal arch. The entire pictorial programme is the result of the work of three masters. The triumphal arch, featuring the Annunciation and a sequence of saints positioned between painted colonnades, was painted in 1471 by Clerigin of Koper. The author and date are known from a Latin inscription beneath the kantharos, next to the kneeling Virgin. The same painter is also attributed with the depictions within the arcades of the triumphal arch and part of the decoration of the south wall near the sanctuary. The Gothic frescoes on the lateral walls are organised into two registers, with individual scenes separated by richly decorated ornamental borders. The depiction of the Virgin and Child with saints on the north wall is associated with the workshop of Vincent of Kastav. Based on the earliest preserved graffito inscription on this painting, it is dated between 1471 and 1477. The most extensive part of the cycle, comprising scenes from the Life of Christ on the lateral walls, is attributed to a painter from the workshop of the Master of the Lovran Martyrdom of St George. Four scenes from the Mariological cycle in the upper register of the north wall are the result of a restoration intervention carried out in 1935. The lower zone of the walls is decorated with a painted velarium of simple ornamental design.

The wall paintings were restored in 1935 under the supervision of conservator-restorers from Trieste. The first scholarly account of the frescoes was published by Ljubo Karaman in 1949 in the article “O srednjovjekovnoj umjetnosti Istre” in the journal Historijski zbornik.

Iconographic programme:

East wall: 1. Annunciation, 2. Christ, 3. Patriarchs and Prophets, 4. Female saint, 5. Saint, 6. Franciscan saint, St Sebastian, and St Bernardino, 7. Saint, St Margaret, and St Vitus. South wall: 8. Virgin Protectress with members of the confraternity, 9. Baptism of Christ, 10. Temptation in the Wilderness (Stones), 11. Temptation in the Wilderness (Mountain), 12. St Joachim in the Temple, 13. St Joachim in the Wilderness, 14. St Anne in the Garden, 15. Entry into Jerusalem, 16. Last Supper, 17. Prayer on the Mount of Olives, 18. Kiss of Judas, 19. Christ before Caiaphas, 20. Christ before Pilate, 21. Flagellation. North wall: 22. Virgin and Child with angels,  23. St Sebastian, 24. St Roch, 25. St George, 26. St Peter and donor, 27. St Christopher,  28. Disputation in the Temple, 29. Wedding at Cana, 30. Death of the Virgin, 31. Burial of the Virgin, 32. Assumption of the Virgin, 33. Coronation of the Virgin, 34. Nailing to the Cross, 35. Crucifixion, 36. Deposition from the Cross, 37. Lamentation, 38. Harrowing of Hell (Descent into Limbo), 39. Resurrection and the Three Marys at the Tomb, 40. Ascension.