Fidenza, duomo (Cathedral of San Donnino), right tower (Trabucco Tower), west front: frieze composed of five panels delimited by two large lion heads. The most widely accepted theory today identifies them as the “Stories of Berta, Milo and Rolandino” told by two chanson de geste between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century.The panels should be read from right to left, identifying the following scenes:Pepin the Short saves two “Lombards” from the jaws of a lion with his bare hands;Charlemagne goes hunting, while Milo seduces Berta, Charlemagne’s sister;Milo fights with a bandit who wants to kidnap Berta, who has become pregnant;Milo, followed by his son Rolandino, goes into the woods to get wood to sell;A young lion – an allegory of Rolandino – bites a horse’s neck.Work by Benedetto Antelami and workshop.
