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MARIA Brykowska

sides (remodelled in the 18th century). During
renovations (as of 1865), in an attempt to echo the
original mass, the gable roof and mono-pitched ones
were restored, without, however, the ridge level
having been altered. The 1993 documentation
confirms the preservation of the genuine core of the
roof structure with queen posts and the replacement
of the tie-beams and the roofing (Fig. 10). The
applied structure with one queen post and braces in
the truss above the church's body at Monte Rua was
most appropriate for low roofs with a truss span of
7-10.0 (Fig. 11) applied in Italy. This structure type
was accomplished there from the antiquity until the
late 18th century; in the case of wider spans, the
number of queen posts or braces was increased.
Necessary examples can be found not far from
Monte Rua, in the two early Christian basilicas of
Grado: in Sant'Eufemi Church (Fig. 12) there is a
queen post roof truss with one queen post and the
tie-beam, whereas in Santa Maria della Grazie
Church there is such roof with one queen post, two
braces, and the tie-beam. All the elements were
connected with notches. This kind of roof structure
is known e.g. in mediaeval Florence (San Miniato al
Monte, Santa Croce; Fig. 15) and later. It was also
present in several variants in the theory of modern
architecture (S. Serlio 1537, published 1584, Fig.

13; A. Palladio 1570, Fig. 14). In Italy the roof
frames with several queen posts were called
'capriate Palladiana'.
In the modern era, design drawings illustrated
'composition unities' on the grounds of putting
together fragments of the layout, half of the cross
section, and the half faęade, with the roof slopes
relevant to the slopes of the tympanum, as e.g. in the
print of the II Gesu Church (1617), with the queen
post roof truss.
All the churches of the Camaldolese Hermits in
Italy featured 'basilica-shaped' masses (with no
windows above the mono-pitched roof), while the
level of the roof ridge was adjusted to the tympanum
crowning the faęade (Fig. 16); the Kahlenberg
Church (1628-39), raised by P. Sylvano Boselli,
ranked among that group, this despite its later roof
structure (collar beam roof truss with lying posts,
after 1693 the 1715 restoration; Fig. 17). An issue
apart is to be found in the structure of mono-pitched
roofs, which appeared later in Camaldolese
churches: the Monte Rua one (after 1865), and the
Rytwiany one (1930). In every case, however, the
roof framing was implemented by local carpenters.
Currently, the research into the structure of roofs
and their conservation are conducted by numerous
domestic and foreign institutions.

Translated by Magdalena Iwińska