Manipulating Theophany: Light and Ritual in North Adriatic Architecture (Ca. 400-Ca. 800)

Using light as fil rouge uniting theology, ritual, and cultic spaces, the present study argues that settings of fifth-century baptism and sixth-century episcopal liturgy were meant to reproduce the luminous atmosphere of heaven. One nocturnal and one diurnal, the two sacraments present us with different scenarios, testifying to the capacity of church builders and willingness of Late Antique bishops to stage the ritual experience.