Cesena Cathedral

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Aerial view of the cathedral
facade
Fresco by Giaquinto
inner space

The Cesena Cathedral or Cathedral of St. John the Baptist ( Italian Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista ) is a church in Cesena in Emilia-Romagna , Italy . The cathedral of the diocese of Cesena-Sarsina was built at the end of the 14th century in the Gothic style with a Romanesque brick facade. It is dedicated to John the Baptist and has the title of a minor basilica .

history

In 1378, Galeotto I. Malatesta initiated the construction of the new cathedral in the Croce di Marmo district after taking over the rule. This was started in 1385 and lasted 20 years under his son Andrea Malatesta . The plan is said to come from a master builder from Unterwalden , Switzerland , called Maestro Underwalden, and corresponded to the typical German Gothic building plan for a hall church .

Between 1443 and 1456 the church was fitted with a bell tower designed by the master builder Maso di Pietro di Lugano at the instigation of Bishop Antonio Malatesta da Fossombrone; the bishop, who was in office from 1435 to 1475, was a central figure in the development of the cathedral and the current appearance can be traced back to his work, he also had the bishop's palace built. After his death, the Florentine sculptor Ottaviano di Antonio di Duccio designed the funerary arch and the art of the church began to flourish, with famous sculptors such as the brothers Giovanni Battista and Lorenzo Bregno da Osteno. At the transition from the 15th to the 16th century, the upper part of the facade was completed according to a design by Mario Codussi. At the end of the 16th century, Bishop Gualandi visited the entire complex of the cathedral and dedicated the small painting by Bartolomeo Ramenghi , known as Bagnacavallo, to the Madonna del Popolo.

The 17th century was marked by successive Baroque renovations, while in the middle of the 18th century the Madonna del Popolo was housed in the new chapel dedicated to her, built between 1746 and 1748 based on a design by Pietro Carlo Borboni and between 1750 and 1751 was painted with frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto .

After a return to the origins with the removal of the baroque additions, the architect Gualandi gave the cathedral a new, apparently Gothic look between 1886 and 1892. The years 1957–1960 finally brought the final restoration: the removal of the inner neo-Gothic vaults, a new ceiling, the removal of the altars from the 19th century, a new crypt and the stonework of the windows on the facade brought the church into its current appearance which is very similar to the original. The crypt houses the remains of Saint Mauro, bishop and patron saint of the city.

In 1960 the church was given by Pope John XXIII. awarded the rank of minor basilica. It was in 1782 by Pope Pius VI. and visited in 1986 by Pope John Paul II .

architecture

The exterior of the building stands out for its typically Romanesque sobriety made of bricks, with eight pilasters interrupting the flat uniformity of the facade. The upper part, designed by Mario Codussi and in the Venetian tradition, has a triangular pediment, two semicircular tympanums and two small columns; in the center there is a pair of pilasters decorated with a seraphim frieze.

The rest of the decoration of the facade is limited to an inscription to the right of the portal with that of Pope Pius VI. the city granted total indulgence on July 9, 1793 and a niche with the Madonna and Child by Vincenzo Gottardi from 1510.

On the left side of the cathedral is a bronze statue of Saint John the Baptist from the 1980s, made by the sculptor Leonardo Lucchi.

According to tradition, the round, curved stone portal is said to come from the old church of San Lorenzo and was placed here at the behest of Antonio Malatesta. Its bronze door (2000) is the work of the sculptor Ilario Fioravanti from Cesena and illustrates the virtues of St. John the Baptist: in the arch is the Madonna del Popolo with St. Maurus and St. Vicinius, below are the four evangelists and the glorification of Christ depicted, on the doors there are episodes from the life of the saint with an encounter with Christ.

The bell tower is on the far left side of the cathedral. It was built between 1443 and 1456 according to a plan by Maso di Pietro della Val Lugano, equipped with a bell chamber in 1741 and the original dome in 1753, until it reached a height of 72 meters.

Web links

Commons : Cathedral of Cesena  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cattedrale di S. Giovanni Battista on gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Denis Capellini: Guida di Cesena, Città Malatestiana , 2001, pp. 101-104.

Coordinates: 44 ° 8 ′ 14.9 "  N , 12 ° 14 ′ 43.1"  E