Bitonto Cathedral (Italian : Duomo di Bitonto, Concattedrale di Maria SS. Assunta) [1] is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Bitonto in the Province of Bari, Italy.
The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mary, was the seat of the small Bishopric of Bitonto from the bishopric's foundation, believed to be in the 8th century, until 1818, when it was combined with the neighbouring Diocese of Ruvo to form the Diocese of Ruvo e Bitonto. This was separated again in 1982, and the Diocese of Bitonto, with Bitonto Cathedral as its seat, was briefly revived, but was combined with the Archdiocese of Bari in 1986 to form the Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto, in which Bitonto Cathedral is now a co-cathedral.
The remains of a palaeochristian church, which predates by some centuries the establishment of the bishopric, have been discovered underneath the present building.
The existing church however is a Romanesque building of the late 11th-12th centuries, influenced by the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari. The west front is divided into three parts and has three portals (the central one of which is sculpted with plant motifs and scenes from the Old Testament), four mullioned windows and a rose window flanked by sculptures of animals supported by small columns. The interior has a nave and two aisles, and is also notable for its sculpture. The main artwork is the marble ambo, a combined pulpit and lectern, of 1229, a masterpiece of medieval Apulian stonecarving. In the crypt is a tile of a griffin, a survival from the predecessor church building.
A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or cathedra, with another cathedral, often in another city. Instances of this occurred in England before the Protestant Reformation in the dioceses of 'Bath and Wells', and of 'Coventry and Lichfield'. These two dioceses were each named for both cities that served as bishop's seats.
Bitonto is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari, in the Italian region of Apulia. It lies to the west of Bari. It is nicknamed the "City of Olives", due to the numerous olive groves surrounding the city.
Altamura Cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Altamura, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, in southern Italy.
The Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church. It is a metropolitan see of the Latin Church, located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
The Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto is Metropolitan Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the administrative Bari province, Puglia (Apulia) region, southeastern Italy, created in 1986, when the historical diocese of Bitonto was subsumed in the Archdiocese of Bari.
The diocese of Ruvo was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Apulia, southern Italy, which existed until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi. From 1818 to 1982, it was united with the diocese of Bitonto, as the diocese of Ruvo and Bitonto.
The Italian Catholic diocese of Bitonto, in Apulia, had a short independent existence from 1982 to 1986. In the latter year it was united into the Archdiocese of Bari, forming the Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto. Before 1982, it had existed since the 9th century until being united into the diocese of Ruvo e Bitonto in 1818.
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Gravina Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Gravina in Puglia, region of Apulia, Italy. It was previously the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Gravina. Since 1986, along with Altamura Cathedral and Acquaviva Cathedral, it has served as a co-cathedral of the Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti.
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Marsico Nuovo Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint George, in the town of Marsico Nuovo, province of Potenza, region of Basilicata, Italy. It stands on a hill that rises above the town. Formerly the seat of the diocese of Marsico Nuovo, it has been a co-cathedral within the Archdiocese of Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo since 1986.