Dvigrad, church of St. Sophia

The church of St. Sophia was erected in the urban core of Dvigrad at the end of the 8^th or the beginning of the 9^th century. During the 12^th and 13^th centuries, the older Pre-Romanesque structure was incorporated into the central nave of a larger Romanesque church. During the renovation, the previous system of apses was removed and replaced by a single spacious semi-circular apse. Despite later interventions, remains of wall paintings were discovered in the area of the three inscribed apses of the earlier hall church.

A total of five fragmentary frescoes have been preserved, which can be dated to the period immediately following the church's construction. A fragment with part of a figure and an inscription was found in the southern apse. A fragment with the remains of an inscription originates from the central apse, while two fragments with individual figures have been preserved in the northern apse. The half-length depictions of saints were originally part of a broader composition, arranged below and along the sides of the apse window. During the research, the frescoes were detached from their original surface and are currently kept at the Archaeological Museum of Istria.

 The stylistic and formal characteristics of these frescoes point to the Carolingian painting tradition at the turn of the 8^th to the 9^th century. Some of the formal solutions simultaneously reveal affinities with the expression of Ottonian Pre-Romanesque art in the area of present-day Germany.

The frescoes were revealed during archaeological research conducted in 1962 by the Archaeological Museum of Istria under the direction of Branko Marušić. Marušić published their analysis in 1971, in the article „Kompleks bazilike sv. Sofije u Dvigradu“ in the journal Histria Archaeologica.