Cathedral of Catanzaro: The Principal Church of the Archdiocese
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Italian, Kingdom of Naples, Norman, Spanish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page8 sections
History
The Cathedral of Catanzaro is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Catanzaro, Italy, occupying the site of a church founded in 1121 during the Norman period. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles Peter and Paul and serves as the principal church of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace, the Roman Catholic jurisdiction headed by an archbishop.
Norman foundation and medieval additions
The first cathedral was built in 1121, when Norman rulers controlled parts of southern Italy, including Calabria. Pope Callistus II, whose early twelfth-century papacy coincided with the cathedral’s foundation, consecrated the building in 1122 and dedicated it to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saints Peter and Paul.
A Chapel of Saint Vitalian was added against the cathedral’s left side in 1309, near the entrance known as the Elm Gate. In 1588, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament was built opposite it. Together, these additions gave the church a roughly Latin-cross arrangement, with a long central axis crossed by a shorter transept.
Renaissance alterations and destruction
The cathedral received a Renaissance façade in 1511. That front collapsed during the earthquake of 1638. Further building campaigns are recorded for 1500, 1768, and 1835, reflecting the repeated alteration of the church over the centuries.
Bombing in August 1943, during the Second World War, brought down the left transept and damaged the bell tower. Postwar work by the architects Franco Domestico and Vincenzo Fasolo radically altered the cathedral. The work continued until 1956, within a broader rebuilding campaign dated from 1947 to 1960.
Modern religious and conservation history
Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral in 1984. He was pope from 1978 to 2005 and one of the major modern leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. The cathedral has been closed since 2017 while major restoration work has proceeded, with a further restoration campaign beginning in 2023.
Remains
Layout and entrances
The present cathedral stands in Piazza Duomo at approximately 343 metres above sea level and is attributed to Franco Domestico and Vincenzo Fasolo. Its architectural language is rationalist, a modern approach based on geometric forms, functional planning, and restrained ornament. The orientation of the earlier cathedral remains unchanged, although the surrounding urban fabric has reduced the prominence of the main façade and left it with a modest forecourt. Three side doors open through an atrium formed by three arcades. A baptistery is attached to the left side of the façade, while the atrium between it and the Chapel of Saint Vitalian contains the arcades leading to the side entrances. The principal entrance is reserved for special occasions.
Naves and sanctuary
The church has a basilical plan, with a central nave and two side naves divided by pillars and arcades. These spaces lead to a non-projecting transept that reaches the same height as the central nave. The transept ends in a choir with an apse, the terminal part of the choir, above which rises a dome and lantern. The lantern is a raised structure that admits light above the dome.
Chapel and organ
The altar in the Chapel of Saint Vitalian contains three niches for the relics of Saint Vitalian, the patron saint of Catanzaro, and Saints Fortunatus and Irenaeus, who had served as protectors of the Byzantine city. The organ was built in 1959 by the Ruffatti brothers. It has 29 stops arranged across two manuals and a pedalboard and stands on the floor of the right transept.
Nearby sites
