Early Christian Liturgical Furnishing from the Triconch Churches at Pridraga and Bilice

Abstract

It has already been noted in the scholarship that two interesting triconch churches in central Dalmatia, at Pridraga and Bilice, share a similar, if not identical, phase of architectural development. Originally, both structures were free-standing single-nave longitudinal buildings with a triconch sanctuary. In the second phase, both were provided with annexes along the lateral walls of the nave and transformed into more complex religious structures. This article discusses the liturgical furnishings from the churches at Pridraga and Bilice given that they also share many formal features, and argues that their decoration and carving technique point to the same time of production.