Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Giovinazzo)

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Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
Giovinazzo, cattedrale, 01.jpg
The side entrance of the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo, seen from the opposite road.
Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Giovinazzo)
41°11′22″N16°40′24″E / 41.18944°N 16.67333°E / 41.18944; 16.67333
Location Giovinazzo, Apulia
AddressSquare Duomo, nr. 2, Giovinazzo
Country Italy
Denomination Catholic
History
Consecrated 23 May 1283
Architecture
Years built1125–1180
Administration
Diocese Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi

The co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo stands on a pre-existing church dedicated to Santa Maria dell'Episcopio.

Contents

It is the mother church of the city.

The co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo, between square Duomo and street Marco Polo. Giovinazzo - Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta - 2023-09-29 21-11-40 001.JPG
The co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo, between square Duomo and street Marco Polo.

History

It is attested that the first bishop of the co-cathedral was a certain Grimoaldo or Grimaldo, around the year 1022. [1]

The current cathedral, which stands on the site of an older building, called by the sources Santa Maria de Episcopio, was built during the 12th century in the Norman age, dating back to between 1125 (beginning of the construction of the crypt) and 1180 (completion of the upper church).

The building was consecrated only a century later, on 23 May 1283. The Romanesque cathedral had three naves divided by columns, with a trussed ceiling, false galleries and a mosaic floor. Few traces remain of this church today, due to the renovation works on the building during the eighteenth century (between 1730 and 1752 under bishop Paolo de Mercuzo), which led to the total renovation of the interiors according to the baroque taste: they belong to the ancient Romanesque church the rear façade, closed between two bell towers (of which the smallest, however, is from the seventeenth century), part of the presbytery area and the crypt.

It is known that on 16 July 1522 Duke Don Ferdinando of Capua received homage from the two mayors of the squares and the body of the Universitas (city title). [2]

It is worth noting that some members of the noble Chyurlia family held important religious positions in the co-cathedral during the 16th century. [3]

The city of Terlizzi was declared co-cathedral of Giovinazzo by Pope Benedict XIV due to a dispute over the acquisition of Pious Institutes between the city of Terlizzi and the prelates of Giovinazzo; the title of co-cathedral was later abolished. [4]

The new organ dates back to 1779, commissioned by La Pegna. [5]

On 25 April 1843 the insignia of the mozzetta of the cathedral of Giovinazzo was granted, with the cappa magna. [6] [7]

Other events

In the 1970s, various ancient documents were lost due to theft in the diocese of Piglia but the Carabinieri of Apulia made a major discovery of the various manuscripts, including some of those from the co-cathedral of Giovinazzo, recovered in 2010. [8]

On 6 January 2025, the bishop of the diocese H.E. Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia presided over the mass and opened the holy door of the Co-Cathedral. [9] [10]

Description

Inside, the church has three naves divided by pillars, with a large transept, three side chapels on each side, and a large main altar. The apse is completely covered with canvases by the Giovinazzo painter Carlo Rosa from 1676, which depict Maria Assunta and other saints. In the right arm of the transept and in the presbytery area, during the restoration work of the 1990s, traces of mosaics from the ancient Romanesque flooring of the cathedral were brought to light, dating back to the end of the 12th century.

The altars of the side chapels are dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Blessed Nicola Pagla, the Crucifix, Santa Maria di Loreto and San Francesco Saverio. The most important is the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, built in 1768 by Gennaro Sammartino and Crescenzo Tronchese. Of particular historical-artistic value are two panels: one from the thirteenth century, of Byzantine workmanship, depicting the Madonna of Corsignano; and the other fifteenth-century one depicting the Redeemer. [11]

The organ of the co-cathedral. Giovinazzo - Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta - 2023-09-10 09-51-45 001.JPG
The organ of the co-cathedral.

The organs

An ancient organ could be found above the presbytery in the altar of the royal chapel, according to the documents written in a pastoral visit of Bishop Joannes Antolinez Brizianos de la Ribeira.

The current organ of the Giovinazzo cathedral dates back to the 15th century. XVII, from the year 1724, commissioned by the bishop mons. Giacinto Gaetano Chiurlia (or Chyurlia), replacing an earlier one, dated 15th century. XV.

Monsignor Paolo de Mercurio, who succeeded Bishop Chiurlia, in 1741, through his money and that of Monte dello Spoglio (view as Mount of piety , it was a local Christian religious credit institution of the time, still extinct), built a new organ in Bari to be placed in the co-cathedral. [12]

It was restored for the first time by Luigi Mentasti in the 19th century.

The organ was restored a second time, in recent times by Pagliarulo Pierfrancesco, taking it to Castellana Grotte, between the years 2002-2003. [13]

The crypt

The cathedral of Giovinazzo has an extensive and very ancient crypt, in fact the remains of pre-Christian capitals were found around a robbery that occurred in May 1898. [14]

Terragna marble tombstone, bearing the recumbent figure in relief of the knight armed with shields depicting the noble arm of the House with an epigraph, sculpted by the noble captain Enrico Zurolo (or Zurlo), which is preserved in the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo (BA). Giovinazzo, cattedrale, interno 03 tomba di cavaliere.jpg
Terragna marble tombstone, bearing the recumbent figure in relief of the knight armed with shields depicting the noble arm of the House with an epigraph, sculpted by the noble captain Enrico Zurolo (or Zurlo), which is preserved in the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo (BA).

The scrolls

The archive present in the crypt of the Giovinazzo co-cathedral contained a number of 1437 parchments, drawn up and rearranged for the first time by two local scholars, in 1958. [15]

Over the years, other researchers found other parchments and only in 2002 were they organized and cataloged in a summary sheet. [16]

The tombstones

From the left nave you go down into the crypt, the oldest part of the cathedral. It is made up of 10 bare columns and 12 pillars protruding from the perimeter walls. Tombstones are present in the walls and floor; among these that of the young Antonio Sindolfi of 1386. [17]

There is also a tomb of a knight, one Enrico Zurolo (or Zurlo), [18] belonging to the noble Zurolo family of the same name. On the Terragna tombstone we read: D.O.M. | HENRICO ZVRVLO FORMER CAPYTIORVM PARTENOPEA | FAMILIA QUEM PRAETER | NOBILISSISSI GENERIS VETVSTATEM FIDES | COSTANTIA VITA INTEGRITAS DECORARVNT | NI. ANT. I.V.D. ET ABBAS HIERON | FILII PIESS PATRI OPT. PP. MDXLII VIX AN. LXIII | VSQUE AD DIEM NOVISSIMVM. [19]

Restorations

On 24 July 2022, the chapel of the crucifix was reopened to the public after a Eucharistic celebration and the works of art were also relocated to their main places in the minor altar. [20]

From February 2023 until mid-June 2024, important restoration works on the attic of the co-cathedral were initiated, using the 8 x 1000 funds intended for the Roman Catholic Church. [21]

Bibliography

Historical sources

Archival sources

Secondary sources

Newspaper articles

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Mincuzzi Antonella; supervisor Rita Silvestri (2017). "Capitolo della cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo di Giovinazzo" [Chapter of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo in Giovinazzo]. SIUSA - Sistema Informativo Unificato per le Sovrintendenze Archivistiche. The establishment of the chapter of the cathedral of Giovinazzo is contemporary with the erection of the diocese of Giovinazzo, around 1022, the year in which the first bishop, Grimoaldo or Grimaldo, appears. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  2. ↑ G. De Ninno; N. Di Cagno-Politi; E. Rogadeo; L-Sylos (December 1894). Archivio storico pugliese, organo della Società di Storia Patria per la Puglia · Volume 1 [Apulian Historical Archive, organ of the Society of Homeland History for Apulia · Volume 1]. 1 (in Italian). Vol. 1. On 16 July 1522 in the Cathedral church of Giovinazzo homage was solemnly sworn by the Mayors of the two Squares and by the entire body of the University to the said Duke Don Ferdinando of Capua, in the presence of the viceroy and Mr. Rahoa della Marra di Barletta, vice-duke, the bishop Marcello de Planca with all the clergy and a large crowd of people. Bari (BA). p. 62. Retrieved January 20, 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ Goffredo di Grollalanza (1892). "MEMORIE STORICHE" [HISTORICAL MEMORIES]. Giornale araldico-genealogico-diplomatico [Heraldic-genealogical-diplomatic journal] (in Italian). Vol. 1. Bari (BA): At the direction of the heraldic journal. pp. 366–375. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  4. ↑ Attilio Zuccagni Orlandini (1845). "24.Circondatario di Terlizzi" [24. Terlizzi District]. In from publishers (ed.). Corografia fisica, storica e statistica dell'Italia e delle sue isole, corredata di un atlante, di mappe geografiche e topografiche, e di altre tavole illustrative, Supplemento al volume undecimo. 11.1 · Volume 11 [Physical, historical and statistical chorography of Italy and its islands, accompanied by an atlas, geographical and topographical maps, and other illustrative tables, Supplement to the eleventh volume. 11.1 · Volume 11] (in Italian). Vol. 11. The Royal City is Terlizzi and formerly the Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo, until both were suppressed in modern times. Among the Pious Institutes there is a Hospital, administered by a Congregation of nobles who also administer medicines to the sick and suffering of the city, two miles away there was another called Sovero, belonging to the Templars, which was then reduced to a commendation by the Order of Malta, with the Cathedral Chapter giving custody of the annexed church in which a sacred image is preserved, much venerated by the local population. The largest temple was governed by a prelate with almost episcopal jurisdiction, and with exemption from any tax. Until the 14th century the bishops of Giovinazzo attempted to take it under their dominion; the case was then discussed in Rome, but not even Cardinal Orsino sent by Pius II to crown Ferdinand I could resolve that dispute; which was then resolved by the intelligence of Pope Benedict XIV, finally declaring the city of Terlizzi "co-cathedral of Giovinazzo". Florence (FI). pp. 155–157.
  5. ↑ Pasquale Corsi; Grazia Distaso; Trifone Gargano; Clara Gelao; Ferdinando Merizzi; Pasquale Rossi; Ugo Rubini; Pietro Sisto (December 2013). "L'organo della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The organ of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo]. Fogli di Periferia (in Italian) (1–2). Putignano (BA): Grafiche Vito Radio Editore srl: 61–69. ISSN   2284-0710.
  6. ↑ Domenicantonio Vacca (1846). "INSEGNE ECCLESIASTICHE" [ECCLESIASTICAL INSIGNIA]. Supplimento all'Indice generale alfabetico della collezione delle leggi e dei decreti per il Regno delle Due Sicilie distinto per materie con ordine cronologico dall'anno 1841 a tutto il 1845 per cura di Domenicantonio Vacca [Supplement to the general alphabetical index of the collection of laws and decrees for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies divided by subjects in chronological order from the year 1841 to the end of 1845 edited by Domenicantonio Vacca] (in Italian). 1843 I SEM. The participants of the cathedral of Giovinazzo are granted the insignia of the mozzetta pavonazza with the cappa magna, dec. 25 Apr. page 172. Naples (NA): Stab. tip. In the Sign of the Anchor. p. 165. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  7. ↑ Staff of Catalogo generali dei Beni Culturali; Veronica Santoni; Cecilia Perrone (January 27, 2022). "Chiesa Cattedrale di Giovinazzo, Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta" [Cathedral Church of Giovinazzo, Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta]. Catalogo generali dei Beni Culturali (in Italian). The salient events summarized in the history of the co-cathedral of Santa Maria a Giovinazzo. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  8. ↑ Michele de Palma (2016). "L'obituario trecentesco della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The fourteenth-century obituary of the Giovinazzo Cathedral]. Settentrione-Nuova Serie (in Italian) (28). During the last decade, the close understanding with the Bari Unit of the Command Carabinieri Protection of Cultural Heritage led to the recovery of a substantial amount documentary, bibliographic and artistic material belonging to the Church, which - at least since the 1970s - had been found to be unavailable2. Among the various manuscripts identified by the Carabinieri and returned to the Diocese, the parchment code occupies an important place of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo, dating back to 1301 (trace of which had been lost), rediscovered in 2010, together with a parchment from 1170, from a private resident in Berwyn (Illinois, USA). Painosalama Oy, Turku: 31–32. ISSN   1237-9964.
  9. ↑ Staff of GIOVINAZZO LIVE .IT (December 28, 2024). "La Concattedrale di Giovinazzo è chiesa giubilare" [The Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo is a jubilee church]. GIOVINAZZO LIVE .IT (in Italian). The Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo has been designated a Jubilee church and is among the 80 Apulian churches indicated as such for the 2025 Jubilee, launched last December 24 by Pope Francis with the opening of the Holy Door. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  10. ↑ Gianluca Battista (January 6, 2025). "Celebrazione solenne ed apertura porta di Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia" [Solemn celebration and opening of the door by Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia]. GIOVINAZZO viva (in Italian). Today, January 6, the Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo will host the rite of the opening of the Holy Door and the solemn celebration of the start of the Jubilee journey officiated by the bishop, H.E. Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  11. ↑ Comune di Giovinazzo. "Chiese, Cattedrale". Comune di Giovinazzo (in Italian). The entire description of the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo, in the province of Bari. Giovinazzo (BA). Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  12. ↑ Pasquale Corsi; Grazia Distaso; Trifone Gargano; Clara Gelao; Ferdinando Merizzi; Pasquale Rossi; Ugo Rubini; Pietro Sisto (December 2013). "L'organo della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The organ of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo]. Fogli di Periferia (in Italian) (1–2). Putignano (BA): Grafiche Vito Radio Editore srl: 61–69. ISSN   2284-0710 – via Academia.edu.
  13. ↑ Antonio Filipponio. "L'organo del Duomo" [The organ of the Cathedral]. Organi Baresi (in Italian). It was restored for the first time by Luigi Mentasti in the 19th century. The organ was restored a second time, in recent times by Pagliarulo Pierfrancesco, taking it to Castellana Grotte (BA), between the years 2002-2003. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  14. ↑ Diego De Ceglio (October 10, 2018). "LA CRIPTA DELLA CATTEDRALE DI GIOVINAZZO TRA XIX E XX SECOLO ("I segreti del tempo" raccontati in memoria di don Gaetano)" [THE CRYPT OF THE GIOVINAZZO CATHEDRAL BETWEEN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES ("The secrets of time" told in memory of Don Gaetano)]. La Piazza di Giovinazzo (in Italian) (30). There is a very ancient crypt under the co-cathedral, inside there are On 4 May 1898 Bernich wrote: «Crypt. The crypt has been covered of cross vaults supported by pillars and 10 columns; all of stone calcareous. The capitals, like the vaults, were covered in stucco and in the last century transformed in Baroque style. Once the stucco has been removed, you can see the original carvings, some of them capitals are defaced and one absolutely must be replaced. The plan of crypt has been filled and raised by over 50 centimeters and completely covers the bases of the columns; this will have to be purged to uncover the ancient plan and redo it limestone slab flooring, as found in other ancient cathedrals. Era desire of the chapter to restore the two side staircases in the crypt, as it were they see in almost all southern cathedrals, for example, Bitonto, S. Nicola in Bari etc., but no matter how many studies and investigations I have been able to do, I am convinced that it is not possible to do so, given the subsequent construction that took place above cathedral, who work precisely on the spot where the two originally stood steps. In the crypt there are three rooms, marked on the plan with the letter A.A.A.; two near the apse and one where there was certainly the passage of one of the side stairs; these spaces are totally filled with bones and earth and must be emptied to be sterilized. … Exterior east side. This is the side that preserves the most its original state, however, towards the end of the last century various restorations were carried out, including the opening of a window that corresponds to the crypt below. The window, however, with its rude baroque shape, disfigures the entire façade. So I planned to reduce it to a rectangular shape with an arch in the center like those existing in the basilica of S. Nicola in Bari".: 20–21.
  15. ↑ Giovanni Battista Nitto De Rossi; Francesco Nitti di Vito (1899). Le pergamene del Duomo di Bai (continuazione) 1266-1309. Appendice: Le pergamene di Giovinazzo, Canosa e Putignano sino al 1266[The scrolls of the Bai Cathedral (continued) 1266-1309. Appendix: The parchments of Giovinazzo, Canosa and Putignano up to 1266] (in Italian). Bari (BA).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ↑ Bernardi Francesco Antonio; works management Carla Palma 20/05/2007; Mincuzzi Antonella; supervisor Rita Silvestri (2017). "Diocesi di Molfetta - Ruvo - Giovinazzo - Terlizzi. Archivio diocesano di Giovinazzo. Pergamene" [Diocese of Molfetta - Ruvo - Giovinazzo - Terlizzi. Diocesan archive of Giovinazzo. Scrolls]. SIUSA-Sistema Informatico Universale per le Sovrintendenze Archivistiche (in Italian). The manuscript volume "Inventario seu Repertorio delle writings of the Reverend Chapter of this city of Giovenazzo, made in the year 1655", preserved in the chapter archives of Giovinazzo, contains a catalog of 1207 parchments, dated, registered and organized in decks but without chronological order. Francesco Nitti di Vito and Giovanni Battista Nitto De Rossi published, at the end of the 19th century, some documents from the aforementioned collection which was then abandoned in chaotic disorder until 1958. In that year Ezio De Cillis and Luigi Marcotrigiano, on the basis of the old repertoire of 1655, they compiled a new one in which they chronologically ordered and recorded 1436 parchments to each of which they assigned a progressive order number and applied a label to the reverse. The parchments, without distinction of belonging to the chapter archive or to the archive of the bishop's curia, were collected together in groups of ten. Additions to the 1958 repertoire were made by Raffaella Stufano, who subsequently found, in 1965 and 1974, 16 parchments from the 16th-18th centuries, and by Michele Bonserio with a contribution of 48 parchments and six fragments in Benevento script collated by Virginia Brown. Finally, in 2002, a descriptive summary sheet of the parchment collection was drawn up, compiled by Maria E. Trotta under the direction of Carla Palma, official of the Archival Superintendency for Apulia. Retrieved February 3, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Staff of Catalogo generali dei Beni Culturali (2006). "lastra tombale - ambito pugliese (sec. XIV) - lastra tombale 1300 - 1399" [tombstone - Apulian area (14th century) - tombstone 1300 - 1399]. Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali (in Italian). The coat of arms carved on the tombstone belongs to the Sindolfi family. B isanzio Lupis in the "Chronicles of Giovinazzo" says that the Sindolfis are a family of Greek origin. This family, which arrived in Apulia at the time of the Normans, originally settled in Trani, but from the early times it was closely linked to Giovinazzo interests. In a parchment of the cathedral, it appears that in the year 1393 by act of the notary Cola di Cola di Biasio, a certain Antonio DeSindolfi obliged himself to build the chapel of San Tommasosot to the Confession with the right of patronage of the... Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  18. ↑ Gennaro Zurolo (2024). "IV". Casata Zurolo. Origini e sviluppo di una famiglia feudale del Meridione d'Italia[Zurolo House. Origins and development of a feudal family from Southern Italy] (in Italian). Mention made to the knight Enrico Zurolo, represented in a posthumous painting by the Italian artist Domenico Marrazzo. p. 114.
  19. ↑ Gennaro Zurolo (2017). "Linea genealogica aascendentale semplificata" [Simplified ascending family line]. La Città nobile di Giovinazzo e Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Ammiraglio e Balì dei Cavalieri di Malta nel XVII secolo (alla luce di documenti inediti)[The noble city of Giovinazzo and Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Admiral and Bailiff of the Knights of Malta in the 17th century (in the light of unpublished documents)] (in Italian). Rome (RM). pp. 30, 144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  20. ↑ Staff of sir Agezia d'informazione (July 23, 2022). "Diocesi: Molfetta, torna visibile l'altare del Crocifisso nella Concattedrale di Giovinazzo" [Diocese: Molfetta, the altar of the Crucifix becomes visible again in the Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo]. sir Agezia d'informazione (in Italian). For a few days, with the dismantling of the scaffolding which allowed the relocation of the restored works, it has been possible to admire the Chapel of the Crucifix of the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo in its newfound beauty. This was announced by the parish priest Don Andrea Azzollini who has scheduled a Eucharistic celebration of thanksgiving for tomorrow, Sunday 24 July, at 7pm. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ Gianluca Battista (February 23, 2023). "Lavori di restauro al sottotetto della Concattedrale di Giovinazzo" [Restoration work on the attic of the Concathedral of Giovinazzo]. GIOVINAZZO viva (in Italian). Restoration work on the attic of the Concathedral of Santa Maria Assunta has been underway for a few days. The scaffolding effectively blocked the usual entrance from Piazza Duomo and only the one from Via Marina was left open to the faithful for safety reasons. The complete restoration will be made possible thanks to the 8 x 1000 to the Catholic Church... Retrieved January 11, 2025.

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