<P> Scholars offer wide - ranging dates and builders for the surviving Gothic - style Cenacle . Some believe that it was constructed by Crusaders just before Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem in 1187, while others attribute it to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, after he arrived in the city in 1229 . Still others hold that it was not built in this form until the Franciscans acquired the site in the 1330s . Scarce documentation and disturbed structural features offer little strong support for any of these dates . </P> <P> In its current state, the Cenacle is divided into six rib - vaulted bays . The bays are supported by three freestanding columns which bilaterally divide the space, as well as six pillars flanking the side walls . While the capital of the westernmost freestanding column is flush with the Cenacle's interior wall, the column shaft itself is completely independent of the wall, leading scholars to consider the possibility that this wall was not original to the building . </P> <P> An analysis of the column and pillar capitals offers clues, but not a solution, to the mystery of the current building's origin . The Corinthianesque capital between the second and third bays of the Cenacle is stylistically indicative of multiple geographical regions and chronological periods . This capital's spiky leaves, which tightly adhere to the volume of the column before erupting into scrolls, are in congruence with common outputs of the 12th century sculpture workshop at the Temple site in Jerusalem in the last years before Saladin's conquest in 1187 . The workshop also frequently utilized drilling as an ornamental device . The Jerusalem workshop included artists from diverse regions in the West, who brought stylistic traits with them from their native countries . The workshop produced sculpture for many Crusader projects and other structures, such as the al - Aqsa mosque . </P> <P> This comparison allows for the support of the 12th century date of the Cenacle . There are also, however, similar capitals which originated in workshops in southern Italy, a draw for scholars who wish to associate the building with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the Sixth Crusade in 1229 . Examples can be seen in the Romanesque cathedral in Bitonto, a small city near Bari, in southern Italy, and on column supports of the pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery, carved by Apulian - born sculptor Nicola Pisano around 1260 . </P>

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