CRYPT OF ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL

Sydney

The terrazzo mosaic on the floor of St Mary’s Cathedral crypt was Peter Melocco’s master work, his labour of love and his obsession in the last 15 years of his life. His final major project and by far his most ambitious, it was commissioned by the late Archbishop Gilroy and produced, in part, using a grant from the O’Neil family, who were business associates of the Melocco brothers. The design of the floor was created in collaboration with the Reverend Dr W Leonard, a noted theologian from St Patrick’s College, Manly.

There are two major influences on the artistry of Peter Melocco that are very apparent in the crypt floor. The first is the marble inlay floor of the Cathedral of Sienna, which dates back to the 1300s and is a pavement consisting of panels of black and white marble. The second major influence is the Book of Kells, an ancient Celtic manuscript which contains much pattern work that is easily recognised in the floor of the crypt. This type of pattern work was a diagrammatic representation of the twisted leather rope made by the Celts.

The crypt floor can be divided into four sections. The first mosaic to be laid was the small section around the stairwell that surrounds the sandstone pedestal supporting sculptor George Lambert’s bronze figure of an Australian soldier. Peter Melocco himself described the mosaic as “representative of sacrifice” and its border as “Italian Gothic, representative of illuminated borders on Italian missals.” This mosaic was laid between 1929 and 1931.

The second mosaic to be laid covers the resting place Archbishop Kelly’s remains. Its Italian Gothic border introduces a passion flower motif to symbolise the Passion and the central marble slab features the archbishop’s coat of arms, a list of his major achievements and the figures of two adoring angels.

The sanctuary floor, which was completed between 1945 and 1948, was commissioned by Cardinal Gilroy and funded by the donations of parishioners. Its aim was to honour the pioneer priests and the cardinal’s predecessors by having their mortal remains interred within the crypt and their resting places paved with mosaic. Each slab contains marble inlay of extraordinary detail. Between these graves lie seven medallions, each depicting a Christian virtue and its relative vice. Prudence, for example, is a figure of a woman meditating, holding an instrument of measure. Folly is a man on a branch of a tree sawing the branch between himself and the trunk. The medallions draw their influence from the mosaics in Sienna. However, these Australian works are not only thematically well considered and painstakingly crafted but vibrantly coloured as well.

Finally, the mosaic for the main body of the crypt was completed between 1950 and 1958. The design is in the shape of a huge Celtic cross, which extends lengthwise through the crypt, from the sanctuary to the door under the cathedral steps. The six days of creation are depicted in five large medallions, at the head, foot, centre, left and right of the cross. The rest of the cross is filled with Celtic decoration and a series of 18 smaller medallions illustrating titles of the Immaculate Mother of God, to whom the cathedral is dedicated.

One of the mosaic’s great strengths is its juxtaposition of Celtic and Classical imagery and design. The large medallions that depict the six days of creation and the medallions in the sanctuary have a classical nature. The smaller medallions and the patternwork in between are of Celtic influence.

Towards the end of his great work, Peter Melocco’s health had deteriorated and he supervised work in the crypt from a wheelchair. Further plans for the crypt were not completed. Peter’s intention to decorate the columns and vaulted ceiling with mosaics were not fulfilled. A large mosaic mural was planned for the wall behind the Polding Altar and a cartoon, completed by the artist James Gleeson, is now part of the cathedral’s archive.

After Peter Melocco’s death and in recognition of his great artistry in the crypt, Melocco Brothers received the highest international honour for marble and mosaic from the United States National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association.

“When we went to Italy in 1948, he had finished the work around the altar and he was very pleased with it. It was just then that the seed of the idea of doing the rest of the crypt came to him. He would take us on these drives and we drove all around Italy to see paintings and mosaics — he was always looking for ideas he could use on the crypt floor or the crypt wall. I took all the pictures that he wanted. He got much of his inspiration from the Sienna Cathedral — its floor is done in a similar way but it’s not as colourful. He would talk about it. When he started off, he hadn’t a clue what to do but ideas came one by one. He planned most of the floor on that trip and he wrote his ideas on little note pages in pencil. I still have some.” — John Melocco

“Peter Melocco’s most significant work is the crypt at St Mary’s Cathedral. This was the key work that gave me my inspiration to use the medium of terrazzo as artwork.” — David Humphries, mosaic artist

“As a work of inspiration, chiefly Celtic, the mosaic floor has no rival. It is as vivid today as when it was completed. Few churches, even in Europe, have such a beautiful floor. It has been compared with the pictures of prophets and sibyls in the Cathedral of Sienna but these are represented in black and white. The fine mosaic work in the floors of some Roman churches is hardly as ambitious as the floor of the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral.” — Elizabeth James

“The floor of the crypt, now an integral part of the cathedral... is an enduring monument to Peter Melocco and his artists and craftsmen. This legacy would be enhanced by the completion of his plans for the church beneath a church.” — JB Gadson

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