Dominican Thought and Liturgy as Narrative Design in the Cathedral of Orvieto

Scholars have long acknowledged the cohesiveness of each fresco program in the three chapels in the Orvieto Cathedral. However, the programs also complement each other in previously unnoticed ways. Together, without significant overlap, not only do they acknowledge the feasts and doctrinal concerns of greatest importance to Orvietans, but also, they honor all of the major feasts of the entire liturgical year. Moreover, the iconography affirms that in art, history subjects offer more than narrative; they also present a visual form of knowledge. Like a theological metaphor or a multi-layered medieval sermon, each directs its message toward a broad audience, yet at the same time is site-specific and erudite. Such unified iconography likely was inspired by the little-recognized overall, comprehensive plan that Pope Nicholas IV initiated for the cathedral even before he even laid the cornerstone. Successors in Orvieto, probably guided by local theological scholars, primarily Dominicans, appear to have understood his intention, and over the course of a century and a half, carried it forward through a shared institutional memory.