Barnekow House: the medieval mystery of Anagni (13 photos)

Southeast of Rome lies the tiny medieval town of Anagni.





It is best known for the four popes who emerged from here in the 12th and 13th centuries and its stunning cathedral.



Anagni

The medieval architecture here is remarkably well preserved, but one building stands out. This is the Barnekou House.





Anagni Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata; Cattedrale di Anagni) is a cathedral in the city of Anagni, built from 1071 to 1105.

Built in the late 13th century, the building is incredibly elegant. It features lancet windows and an external staircase (of the "profferlo" type), framed by two round arches supported by a central column.



It's actually an example of Italian medieval architecture, reminiscent of the Viterbo style with its external staircases and loggias.



But the house didn't get its name from its medieval builders. In the mid-19th century, Baron Albert von Barnekou, a Swedish painter, alchemist, and officer, settled here.



He arrived in Rome on behalf of the Swedish king, and after marrying a local model from Anagni, he settled in that city.



Conversion to Catholicism awakened such a fervent religious passion in him that he decided to depict it on the façade of his own house, in several languages, with esoteric symbols and considerable enthusiasm.



According to local legends, the intricate inscriptions and frescoes are the result of hallucinations, visions, and alchemical research by the Baron. He spent 25 years in voluntary seclusion in his retreat (which he called the "Tribune Albertina").



The paintings should be read as an account of his own transformation and alchemical journey, culminating in an apparition of the Virgin Mary on November 27, 1861.



Ferdinand Gregorovius - German historian and writer, non-fiction author, medievalist

The house so impressed the German historian and traveler Ferdinand Gregorovius that he sketched it in 1856.