Arbore       

In the space of five months, in 1503, Luca Arbore, commander-in-chief of Moldavia’s army and governor of its capital, Suceava, built a parish church for the village of Soloca. It is consecrated to the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Smaller than other painted churches, its rectangular plan lacks the trefoil apses typical of Moldavian architecture. Like Humor, it has no steeple, as it was built by a landowner.

It was decorated, both in- and outside, in 1541, by a team led by Dragoş Coman of Iaşi. Frescoes on the north side have been completely obliterated and the hierarchical rows on the exterior of the apse are only shadows. Although greatly damaged, the south wall and the recess on the west side retain vivid scenes dominated by green combined with clear, transparent tones of red, blue, yellow, pink and ochre. Delicate, elegant silhouettes full of motion (sometimes showing noncanonical gestures) stand out in these frescoes, with colorful houses drawn in perspective.

A dark narthex shelters the tombs of Luca Arbore and his wife, Iulina. It opens into a nave with large windows. Arbore was restored between 1909 and 1914, again in 1936-37, and its darkened interior frescoes are currently being cleaned. An ethnographic museum is attached.

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