THE PROPHETS – on the façade of Modena Cathedral

collana fiGURAE

The Cathedral of Modena and

the Abbey of Nonantola

speak to us by means of their figures.

A universal language, always alive,

made even clearer and more topical

by these handy booklets.

The prophets are the most fascinating and intriguing characters of ancient Israel’s religion. Each prophet has his own personality and theology. The theologians who designed the sculptures of Modena Cathedral chose twelve prophets to be depicted on the inner jambs of the main portal to stress that they announced the complete salvation by means of Jesus Christ. The figure which stands out the most, is that of the prophet and legislator Moses. Two other characters (Elijah and Enoch) are also depicted next to the epigraph celebrating the foundation of the Cathedral. This booklet describes the fundamental traits of each prophet depicted, in order to provide a short and essential introduction to their books in the Bible. In the appendix, there are pictures of other works dedicated to the prophets present in Modena Cathedral.