Piacenza Cathedral

Last updated
Piacenza Cathedral
Piacenza0001.jpg
Piacenza Cathedral
45°03′01″N9°41′50″E / 45.05028°N 9.69722°E / 45.05028; 9.69722
LocationEmilia-Romagna, Piacenza
CountryItaly
History
Foundedbetween 1122 - 1233
Dedication Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to Saint Justina
Specifications
Height85 metres (279 ft)

Piacenza Cathedral (Italian : Duomo di Piacenza), fully the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta e Santa Giustina, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Piacenza, Italy. The current structure was built between 1122 and 1233 and is one of the most valuable examples of a Romanesque cathedral in northern Italy. The dedication is to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to Saint Justina. It is the seat of the diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio.

Contents

Architecture

The cathedral has a total external length of 85 m, and a façade height of 32 m, dimensions which make it the largest Romanesque church in Emilia-Romagna. The façade, in Veronese pink marble and gilded stone, is horizontally divided by a gallery that dominates the three portals, decorated with capitals and Romanesque statues. The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by twenty-five massive pillars. Its noteworthy frescoes were made in the 14th-16th centuries by Camillo Procaccini and Ludovico Carracci, while the frescos inside the dome are by Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli, "il Morazzone", and Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, best known as "Guercino". The presbytery has a wooden sculpture from 1479, wooden choirstalls by Giangiacomo da Genova (1471) and 15th-century statues of the Lombard school.

The crypt, on the Greek cross plan, has 108 Romanesque small columns and is home to the relics of Santa Giustina, Saint Justina of Padua, who was co-patron of Piacenza from the ninth century; to her was dedicated the first cathedral, Domus Justinae, which collapsed in 1117 after an earthquake.

History

Edward Lamson Henry (American, 1841 - 1919). The Cathedral of Piacenza, 1868. Oil on panel. Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn Museum - The Cathedral of Piacenza - Edward Lamson Henry - overall.jpg
Edward Lamson Henry (American, 1841 - 1919). The Cathedral of Piacenza, 1868. Oil on panel. Brooklyn Museum

Few remains can be traced of the earlier paleochristian basilica, as Piacenza was razed by Totila in 546, during the Gothic War.

A document of 1123 describes Bishop Sigifredo of Piacenza (997–1031) as its "founder". [1]

During its history the cathedral was host to several minor composers as maestro di cappella including Francesco Maria Bazzani, and Giuseppe Nicolini.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lodi, Lombardy</span> Comune in Lombardy, Italy

Lodi is a city and comune in Lombardy, northern Italy, primarily on the western bank of the River Adda. It is the capital of the province of Lodi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arezzo</span> Comune in Tuscany, Italy

Arezzo is a city and comune in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 kilometres southeast of Florence at an elevation of 296 metres (971 ft) above sea level. As of 2022, the population was about 97,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Cathedral</span> Church in Tuscany, Italy

Florence Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, is the cathedral of Florence, Italy. It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white, and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todi</span> Comune in Umbria, Italy

Todi is a town and comune (municipality) of the province of Perugia in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. It was founded in antiquity by the Umbri, at the border with Etruria; the gens Ulpia of Roman emperor Trajan came from Todi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siena Cathedral</span> Medieval church in Tuscany, Italy

Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fidenza</span> Comune in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Fidenza is a town and comune (municipality) in the province of Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its Roman name of Fidentia; before, it was called Borgo San Donnino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisi Cathedral</span> Church in Assisi, Italy

Assisi Cathedral, dedicated to San Rufino, is a major church in Assisi, Italy. This stately church in Umbrian Romanesque style was the third church built on the same site to contain the remains of bishop Rufinus of Assisi, martyred in the 3rd century. The construction was started in 1140 to the designs by Giovanni da Gubbio, as attested by the wall inscription visible inside the apse. He may be the same Giovanni who designed the rose-window on the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1163.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisa Cathedral</span> Church in Pisa, Italy

Pisa Cathedral is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three structures in the plaza followed by the Pisa Baptistry and the Campanile known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The cathedral is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. Consecrated in 1118, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. Construction began in 1063 and was completed in 1092. Additional enlargements and a new facade were built in the 12th century and the roof was replaced after damage from a fire in 1595.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cremona Cathedral</span>

Cremona Cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic cathedral in Cremona, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Cremona. Its bell tower is the famous Torrazzo, symbol of the city and tallest pre-modern tower in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggio Emilia Cathedral</span>

Reggio Emilia Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Reggio Emilia. The dedication is to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Reggio Emilia, it has been since 1986 that of the Diocese of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua</span> Church in Veneto, Italy

The Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua is a Catholic church and minor basilica in Padua, Veneto, Northern Italy, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padua Cathedral</span> Cathedral in Padua, Italy

Padua Cathedral, or Basilica Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, is a Catholic church and minor basilica located on the east end of Piazza Duomo, adjacent to the bishop's palace in Padua, Veneto, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian Gothic architecture</span> Architectural style of Medieval Italy

Gothic architecture appeared in the prosperous independent city-states of Italy in the 12th century, at the same time as it appeared in Northern Europe. In fact, unlike in other regions of Europe, it did not replace Romanesque architecture, and Italian architects were not very influenced by it. However, each city developed its own particular variations of the style. Italian architects preferred to keep the traditional construction methods established in the previous centuries; architectural solutions and technical innovations of French Gothic were seldom used. Soaring height was less important than in Northern Europe. Brick rather than stone was the most common building material, and marble was widely used for decoration. In the 15th century, when the Gothic style dominated both Northern Europe and the Italian Peninsula, Northern Italy became the birthplace of Renaissance architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teramo Cathedral</span>

Teramo Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Teramo, Abruzzo, central Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to Saint Berardo, patron saint of the city. It is the seat of the Bishop of Teramo-Atri. Built in Romanesque-Gothic style, it was consecrated in 1176.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey of Santa Giustina</span> 10th-century Benedictine abbey in Padua, Italy

The Abbey of Santa Giustina is a 10th-century Benedictine abbey complex located in front of the Prato della Valle in central Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. Adjacent to the former monastery is the basilica church of Santa Giustina, initially built in the 6th century, but whose present form derives from a 17th-century reconstruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sant'Antonino, Piacenza</span>

The Basilica of Sant'Antonino is a medieval Roman Catholic basilica in the city of Piacenza in Italy. it is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, Antoninus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ostuni Cathedral</span> Church in Ostuni, Italy

Ostuni Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Ostuni, province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The dedication is to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Ostuni, it has been since 1986 a co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Daniele, Padua</span>

San Daniele is a Roman Catholic church and monastery in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried (bishop of Piacenza)</span>

Siegfried, also Sigefred or Sigifredo, was the bishop of Piacenza from 997 until his death. He was a loyal and rewarded participant in the imperial church system and a notable builder in the city of Piacenza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria di Piazza, Busto Arsizio</span> Church in Lombardy, Italy

The Santuario di Santa Maria di Piazza is located in the historic center of Busto Arsizio, Italy, where an earlier church dedicated to the Virgin Mary stood, which in turn had replaced a chapel dating back to the time of Christianization. This Marian shrine was quickly built between 1515 and 1522.

References

  1. Scirea 2019, p. 454.

Bibliography