Faenza Cathedral: A Renaissance Mother Church in Italy
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- Italy
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- Early Modern
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- Medieval, Early Modern
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- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page9 sections
History
Faenza Cathedral is the principal Catholic church of Faenza, Italy, and the mother church of the Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana. Designed by the Renaissance architect and sculptor Giuliano da Maiano, the present building was begun in 1474 and represents Renaissance architecture in Romagna, with a strong Tuscan influence. Construction was completed by 1515 apart from the unfinished facade, and the cathedral was consecrated for worship dedicated to Saint Peter in 1581.
Earlier Cathedrals and Renaissance Construction
The present cathedral is the third cathedral of Faenza since the diocese was established. The first was Santa Maria foris portam, which served as the cathedral until 743. A second cathedral of unknown date later stood on the site of the present building. It had an east-facing facade and a three-aisled plan, providing an earlier ecclesiastical arrangement for the location.
Giuliano da Maiano’s design introduced the existing Renaissance structure during the late fifteenth century. Although the building was substantially complete by 1515, its facade remained unfinished, leaving the church with a visible distinction between its completed architectural mass and its exposed brick front.
Devotion to the Madonna delle Grazie
The devotion to the Madonna delle Grazie, patroness of Faenza and the diocese, began in 1412 during a plague. Tradition holds that the Virgin appeared to a local woman named Giovanna, told her that the prayers of the people of Faenza had been answered, and foretold the end of the epidemic. The associated image was initially placed in the Dominican church under the care of the confraternity dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie, a religious association formed around shared devotion and ritual activity.
In 1725 and 1726, the image was installed in that church. It was cut from the wall and transferred to the cathedral in 1760, where it remained on the high altar for five years. On 12 May 1765, it was moved to the chapel formerly dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The altar connected with the devotion was incorporated into an earlier marble altar, possibly made by the sculptor Tommaso Ruer. The new arrangement was created by Girolamo Domenico Bertos, a Venetian marble sculptor and craftsman who lived in Ravenna.
Saint Savino and the Cathedral’s Status
The arca of Saint Savino, a monumental chest-like reliquary used to contain or commemorate a saint’s remains, was completed in 1468. Tradition relates that Astorre II Manfredi, after becoming lord of Faenza in 1448, later arranged for Saint Savino’s remains to be transferred to the cathedral. They were placed in the arca in 1471. Between 1605 and 1618, Bishop Erminio Valenti examined the remains and found a skull, bones, ashes, and a manuscript containing the saint’s life. The relics were later moved to a new chapel and had been lost by the end of the eighteenth century.
In October 1948, Pope Pius XII elevated Faenza Cathedral to the dignity of a minor basilica. A minor basilica is a church granted a special papal title recognizing its religious and historical importance without making it the seat of a bishop. The title reflects the cathedral’s continuing ecclesiastical role alongside its earlier history and Renaissance fabric.
Remains
Facade and Exterior
A broad staircase leads to the unfinished facade. Its exposed brickwork retains projecting bricks that reveal the incomplete state of the upper treatment. The lower level contains three round-arched portals corresponding to the three internal aisles, as well as two single-light windows aligned with the side chapels. Above them are two circular oculi, or round windows, over the side aisles, two tall single-light windows, and a rose window over the central aisle. A simple triangular pediment crowned by a wrought-iron cross completes the visible outline. Above the right arm of the transept stands a bell gable, a wall-like structure with openings for bells rather than a separate tower. Its three openings each contain a bell.
Interior and Chapels
The interior follows a Latin-cross plan. Three aisles are divided by round arches carried on Ionic piers alternating with composite columns, and eight chapels flank each side of the aisles. At the eastern end, the deep apse closes with a shell-shaped semi-dome and receives light through five tall single-light windows. Behind the high altar of polychrome marble is a wooden choir dated 1513.
The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of Grace is a diocesan sanctuary containing a detached fresco dated 1412. The image shows Mary breaking arrows, a representation of the dangers from which she offers protection. The Chapel of the Crucifix contains a wooden Crucifix dated 1474 to 1480, attributed to Giovanni Teutonico, the artist associated with this late-fifteenth-century work.
Reliquaries and Renaissance Painting
The cathedral contains the arca of Saint Terenzio of Imola, dated 1462 and made by a Tuscan master. The arca of Saint Savino, completed in 1468, is possibly a Florentine work by Benedetto da Maiano, a Renaissance sculptor and architect from Florence. The arca of Saint Emiliano dates from the second half of the fifteenth century, and some of its marble reliefs are now held in the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris.
Among the cathedral’s paintings is The Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, Joachim, and Anne by Innocenzo da Imola, an Italian Renaissance painter. The work is an oil painting on wood dated 1526.
Madonna delle Grazie Altar and Organ
The Madonna delle Grazie altar centers on the image of the Virgin, which is surrounded by seraphim, a high-ranking order of angels in Christian theology. Two red French-marble columns support an architrave with two small angels. Two further columns of black-and-white Carrara marble support a broken pediment bearing two angels and three broken arrows, the symbol of the confraternity. At the center, an oval medallion contains a bas-relief of the Virgin’s apparition. The arrangement also includes statues of Saints Peter and Paul and two angels holding back a curtain. When the image was removed from the wall, it was placed in an oak frame and positioned two feet higher than in its former setting.
The Mascioni pipe organ, opus 809, was built in 1962. It has electric transmission, three keyboards of 61 notes each, and a concave-radial pedalboard of 32 notes. Its principal stops are located on two choir galleries beside the presbytery. The swell box and console stand in the center of the wooden apse choir, concealed by the high altar.
