Sarzana Cathedral: Episcopal Cathedral and Co-Cathedral in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Genoese
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page15 sections
History
Sarzana Cathedral is a medieval cathedral in Sarzana, Italy, developed from an earlier parish church and completed through successive Romanesque, late Tuscan Gothic, and Baroque phases. Its history is closely connected with the decline of the ancient city of Luni and the transfer of Luni’s episcopal institution to Sarzana.
From Saint Basil’s Church to Cathedral
The cathedral stands on the site and foundations of a parish church dedicated to Saint Basil. This earlier church, known as a pieve, was a rural or parish church that could hold baptismal and other ecclesiastical rights. It is mentioned in a papal bull issued by Pope Eugene III on 11 November 1148.
As Sarzana grew in importance, Luni declined because of malaria and other problems. The Canons of Luni therefore sought to move their institution to Sarzana. Pope Innocent III approved the transfer in a bull dated 7 March 1203, and in 1204 the episcopal seat moved from Luni to Sarzana while retaining the title of Luni. The Sarzana community undertook to provide a new cathedral and residence for the bishop.
The project transformed and greatly enlarged the existing church rather than replacing it entirely. Construction was interrupted and resumed several times. The church was substantially complete by the middle of the fourteenth century, while work on the facade continued until its completion in 1474. The finished building was dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The Diocese of Luni-Sarzana
Sarzana’s full establishment as the episcopal center came later. In 1447, the election of Tommaso Parentucelli of Sarzana as Pope Nicholas V encouraged efforts to secure the city’s ecclesiastical status. Pope Paul II transferred the episcopal title and associated rights from Luni to Sarzana in 1465, creating the Diocese of Luni-Sarzana. The cathedral consequently became the seat of that diocese.
The church’s religious importance was also strengthened by the arrival of the relic of the Precious Blood of Christ. Tradition holds that the relic was brought to Luni in 742 and later transferred to Sarzana. Its presence was associated with the enlargement of the church to accommodate the episcopal seat and pilgrims.
Another tradition connects Sarzana with a relic of Saint Andrew’s hand and arm. Pope Gregory the Great is said to have given it to Venantius, bishop of Luni, after it had reportedly been brought from Constantinople to Rome by a chamberlain named Andrea. A church dedicated to Saint Andrew was associated with the relic’s arrival in Sarzana, and Saint Andrew later became the city’s patron. The relic is now preserved in the cathedral.
Baroque Alterations and Later Status
During the seventeenth century, the cathedral was altered in the Baroque manner, particularly in the apse and side chapels. In 1735, statues of Saint Eutychianus, Pope Sergius IV, and Pope Nicholas V were placed on the facade.
Pope Pius XII raised the church to the rank of minor basilica on 28 November 1947. A minor basilica is an honorific papal title granted to a church of particular religious or historical importance. In 1929, the Diocese of Luni-Sarzana was incorporated into the Diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato. Since 1986, the church has been a co-cathedral of that diocese, meaning that it shares cathedral status with another church within the same diocese.
Remains
Plan and Exterior
The cathedral has a Latin-cross plan, with a long nave crossed by a shorter transept, three aisles, a main apse, and side chapels. Its structure combines Romanesque, late Tuscan Gothic, and Baroque elements. The original roof was made of timber with exposed trusses. The surviving interior arrangement retains the earlier structural organization beneath the later Baroque decoration.
Marble Facade
The Romanesque gabled facade was completed in stages. Its lower portion, including the area beneath the portal, was finished in 1355. The upper section was faced with white marble in 1474, completing the long medieval building campaign.
The main portal dates from 1355 and was made by Michelino de Vivaldo. Above it, the marble rose window was carved by Lorenzo da Pietrasanta in 1474 at the initiative of Filippo Calandrini, cardinal of Bologna. The lunette contains a modern mosaic showing the Assumption of Mary among rejoicing angels. The three facade statues installed in 1735 represent Saint Eutychianus at the center, Pope Sergius IV on the left, and Pope Nicholas V on the right.
Campanile
The campanile stands slightly behind the facade and may preserve the memory of the medieval church of Saint Basil. It is a tall square tower with Guelph crenellations and a pyramidal spire. An iron weather vane on the spire takes the form of an angel carrying the relic of the Precious Blood.
Four bells from different periods remain in the tower. The large bell was recast in 1965 by Paolo Capanni of Castelnovo ne’ Monti, replacing one dated 1460. The middle bell dates from 1579, while the two smaller bells were cast by the Bozzoli founders of Genoa in 1855 and 1822.
Interior and Chapels
The central nave rises slightly above the side aisles and has no windows. Broad round arches rest on octagonal columns with carved capitals. Pietro Giambelli carved the nave’s wooden coffered ceiling between 1662 and 1670. In the presbytery, stucco and paintings richly decorate the ceiling, whose central image represents the Dove of the Holy Spirit.
Side Chapels
Each side aisle contains four chapels, with the last chapel in each aisle extending deeper than the others. Balustrades define the chapels, which contain altars made of polychrome marble. An additional chapel opens at the end of each side aisle.
Chapel of the Precious Blood
The chapel at the end of the right aisle is dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and the Precious Blood of Christ. It contains a marble tabernacle and preserves the relic of the Precious Blood, which is kept on the right side of the high altar.
Chapel of the Cross
The chapel at the end of the left aisle contains the Cross of Maestro Guglielmo in its altarpiece. The cross is dated 1138 and is regarded as the oldest dated painted cross in Italy. Attributed to Maestro Guglielmo, it is a major work of Romanesque painting. Its body and face were repainted in the fourteenth century.
Presbytery and Artistic Works
The central nave ends in a deep semicircular apse, a rounded termination of the sanctuary, occupied by the raised presbytery. The presbytery contains a marble high altar and a wooden choir along its side walls. The apse includes the Baroque Glory of the Virgin, a theatrical ensemble by Giovanni Antonio Cybei recalling the manner of Bernini. Cybei also created the sculptures in the Chapel of Saint Augustine.
The cathedral contains paintings by Francesco Solimena and Domenico Fiasella, including the Visitation, Fiasella’s Martyrdom of Saint Andrew from 1653, and The Massacre of the Innocents. Other works include the Renaissance altarpiece of the Purification, the altar of the Coronation by Leonardo and Francesco Riccomanni, a terracotta work from the school of Luca della Robbia, and two marble busts by Giovanni Baratta.
A transept chapel contains Domenico Sarti’s Purification of Mary, dated 1642. Other works include a seventeenth-century statue of Saint Augustine, a sculpture of the Immaculate Conception possibly associated with the Genoese school of Filippo Parodi, and Fiasella’s Glory of the Divine Blood. Paintings of Saints Nicholas of Bari, John the Baptist, George, Lucy, Apollonia, and Barbara date from 1626. Statues of Saints Andrew and Roch were made by Francesco Agnesini.
Solimena also painted the canvas of Saints Clement, Philip Neri, Lawrence, and John the Evangelist. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple may be attributable to the sixteenth-century painter Antonio da Carpena, known as Il Carpenino.
Cross and Organ
The Cross of Maestro Guglielmo presents Christ in the Christus triumphans tradition, which shows him victorious and relatively serene on the cross. This contrasts with the later Christus patiens type, which emphasizes physical suffering and became more common in later medieval religious art. The cathedral also preserves the relic of Saint Andrew’s hand and arm.
A Serassi organ, opus 561, was built between 1840 and 1842 and restored by Parodi and Marin in 1934. It has fully pneumatic transmission, two 58-note keyboards, and a concave-radial 30-note pedalboard. Its stops are controlled by rocking tablets. The instrument is enclosed in a wooden case shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped. Its facade has a high cornice supported visually by two pairs of fluted Corinthian pilasters, with 27 principal pipes in the center, arranged in three groups of nine and finished with mitre-shaped mouths.
Saint Jerome’s Oratory
A Baroque oratory dedicated to Saint Jerome stands southeast of the co-cathedral, forming an associated religious building within the cathedral’s setting.
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