Cathedral of Trento
The Cathedral of Trento , also Cathedral of San Vigilio (Italian: Cattedrale di San Vigilio ), is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Trento in the northern Italian city of Trento (Italian: Trento ) and bears the title of a minor basilica . It was built over the ancient tomb of the city saint Vigilius , which originally lay outside the walls of the Roman city. In the Cathedral of San Vigilio the decrees of the Council of Trento were issued, which met there from 1545 to 1563 and is of historical importance for the Counter-Reformation . The cathedral is an example of the Lombard-Romanesque style at the transition to Gothic .
history
Early Christian basilica
The archaeological excavations from 1964 to 1977 brought to light the remains of the early Christian basilica of San Vigilio, which was built outside the urban enclosure towards the end of the 4th century from parts of the wall from earlier secular buildings. The basilica goes back to the burial place of the missionaries from Cappadocia Sisinio, Martirio and Alessandro, who were murdered by pagans on May 29, 397 in the Non Valley (Italian: Val di Non ) . Vigilius, the third bishop and patron saint of Trento, was also buried next to the three martyrs .
The ancient place of worship had the role of a pilgrimage church and memorial from the beginning . When the bishop's palace was moved in the immediate vicinity in the 9th or 10th century, the church building also took on the function of the city cathedral . According to the classic typology of an early Christian basilica, the church had an atrium or possibly a four-part portico in front of the front facade. This in turn was broken through by three doors, of which the middle one is still in function today. The ancient basilica was about 43 meters long and 14 meters wide - a considerable size for a single-nave church building.
The floor of the basilica was almost completely covered with tombs that were aligned with the grave of the city patron. At the delimitation of the choir , which is still marked today by a step in red stone, square inlets can be seen, which received the small pilasters of the choir screens. The remains of mosaics of the floor have also been found nearby .
Two chapels with apses were built in the 9th century ; At the same time, the nave was divided into three aisles, the choir was raised and a crypt was built underneath . The last measures were finally Bishop Altmann performed, the church in the presence of the 18 November 1145 Patriarch Pilgrim of Aquileia consecrated .
The archaeological presentation of this early Christian basilica of St. Vigil is under the direction of the Diocesan Museum . This is housed in the former Palazzo Pretorio , which was the high medieval residence of the bishops and adjoins the cathedral at right angles. From the north transept of the cathedral you can get to this underground early Christian basilica, which was excavated over many years.
Romanesque basilica
Bishop Friedrich von Wangen (1207–1218) decided to build the cathedral from scratch and to award the project to the Magistri Comacini , led by Adam von Arogno , as evidenced by a Latin inscription with the year 1212 in the apse. The foundation stone was laid by the bishop on February 29, 1212. The church building begun by Adam von Arogno was continued and completed by his descendants. When Changen died, the project stalled. However, it was essentially taken over by his successors, who continued construction while maintaining the main features of the building plan:
- three naves, separated by columns,
- the projecting transept that let in light
- the very deep presbytery east of the crossing and the semicircular apse,
- two bell towers , only one of which has been completed,
- Column capitals that are shaped like buds.
In 1236 the master Adam of Arogno died, followed by his son Enrico. In the meantime, the funds flowed more sparsely and construction was slowing down.
At the end of the 13th century, the north transept was decorated with a rosette , which is also known as the "wheel of fortune". The rosette is a twelve-spoke wheel, which consists of quite slim spokes. In the center of the wheel, a crowned figure is depicted, dressed in a long tunic . Around the rosette there are figures that are supposed to represent the "uncertain course of the world and of fate".
Between 1305 and 1307, Egidio da Campione directed the work and built the southern side of the cathedral and the lower part of the bell tower. In 1321 Egidio's son, Bonino da Campione, completed the rose window and added Gothic elements to the church.
The bishop's portal was restored at the time of Prince-Bishop Bernhard von Cles , who had his own coat of arms added. Lucio da Como built the dome under Bernhard von Cles.
On February 4, 1508, Emperor Maximilian I was crowned in the cathedral after the Republic of Venice blocked his way to Rome for the imperial coronation and Maximilian deliberately chose Trento as the location of the bridge between the Empire and papal Rome.
Giuseppe Alberti added a baroque structure to the Romanesque forms of the cathedral . In 1682 the domed cross chapel was built under him. In 1739 the two sculptor brothers Domenico and Antonio Giuseppe Sartori , who came from Castione , created the canopy over the altar, which is based on that of Bernini in St. Peter's Basilica ; the old Romanesque altar was removed.
architecture
Exterior construction
The exterior of the Cathedral of Trento is still characterized by the Romanesque-Lombard style from the time it was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. This style is characterized by the structure and design of the outer walls of the apse, bell tower and facade with blind arcades , pilasters or pilaster strips and arched friezes . Particularly noteworthy are the - sometimes free-standing - towers with their increasingly numerous light and sound openings towards the top.
The north side, which delimits the cathedral square, is characterized by remarkable details. The Porta del Vescovo (Bishop's Portal) is located on it , so named because this portal served as an entrance for the procession of bishops who came from Buonconsiglio Castle during the Tridentine Council . The tympanum of the portal shows Christ as Pantocrator with plastic symbols of the four evangelists . To the left of the portal, a niche houses the Madonna degli Annegati , a copy of the figure from the 13th century. The rose window built into the gable end of the transept, which is also known as the “wheel of fortune”, reminds in allegorical form that human fate can change from one day to the next.
The south side, on the other hand, is much simpler. The facade is dominated by a church tower (the second was left unfinished); in the middle there is a large rose window that was only made towards the end of the 18th century.
Of particular interest is the eastern, apsidal side, which is characterized by a columned portal, the double arrangement of angular windows and the narrow bell tower, which is named after St. Romedius was named because, according to a legend, when the saint died, the bell began to ring by itself.
This narrow bell tower belongs to the Castelletto (German: Schlösschen) located between the cathedral and the bishop's palace. The upper floor of the castle once housed the prince-bishop's private rooms, built under Friedrich von Wangen in the 13th century, today the cathedral treasure of the diocesan museum is exhibited here. Below was the actual prince-bishop's residence, which was connected to the private rooms by a narrow stone staircase. From the residence, now also part of the Diocesan Museum, the bishop was able to go directly into the cathedral via a loggia on the north side of the apse with an adjoining stone staircase. While the loggia can be accessed during a visit to the diocesan museum, only traces of the former stone staircase have been preserved. Also part of the residence was a chapel consecrated to Saints Blasius of Sebaste and Lucia of Syracuse in the 11th century, which served as a court chapel and was converted into the cathedral's sacristy under Bishop Giovanni Ludovico Madruzzo at the end of the 16th century .
Window in the apse with knotted columns and mythical creatures
Outside of the apse, detail with two griffins
Pillar-bearing lion on the bishop's portal
Tympanum of the bishop's portal with pantocrator
Madonna degli annegati , 13th century (copy)
inner space
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The interior of the cathedral appears relatively large due to the enormous height and length of the central nave, which is reinforced by the long presbytery.
The high altar is spanned by a baroque canopy. It was erected in the middle of the 18th century as the fulfillment of a vow made by the townspeople during the French siege in 1703 in the course of the War of the Spanish Succession . The urn with the relics of St. Vigilius is kept in the high altar.
The cruciform chapel from 1682 branches off from the southern nave and houses the large cross in front of which the decrees of the Counter-Reformation were promulgated on December 4, 1563 after the end of the council.
The baroque canopy over the high altar
Altar with the bones of the martyrs
Baptismal font with Easter candle
Altar of the Kreuzkapelle
Kreuzkapelle, dome
Grave monument for Pietro Andrea Mattioli
Funerary monument for Roberto Sanseverino, who died in the battle of Calliano
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Frescoes
The frescoes painted between the 13th and 15th centuries are attributed to painters from the Venetian, Lombard and Late Gothic schools. The motifs are classic themes of Christian iconography .
The frescoes on the north wall of the transept are divided into two levels. The upper one shows scenes from the legend of St. Julianus intern . On the lower level, from left to right, the beheading of John the Baptist , a Maria lactans , a mercy seat , Catherine of Alexandria , Maria Magdalena and the birth of Jesus are shown.
Remains of a Christophorus fresco
Legend of St. Julianus, detail
Legend of St. Julianus detail
Bells
The cathedral's bell tower houses a precious ring of eight bells that cover the entire octave of a diatonic scale . Six of the bells were cast in the 1920s by the Luigi Colbacchini foundry in Trento and donated by the city of Mantua : the first, second, third, fifth, sixth and eighth bells (as 0 -b 0 -c 1 -es 1 -f 1 -as 1 ).
In 1955 there were two more bells from the foundry of Luigi Cavadini from Verona. These bells were designed to add the fourth and seventh missing links to complete the largest diatonic scale.
The bells of the nearby Santa Maria Maggiore Church were cast a year after the cathedral bells. The two ringing of the bells, which come from the same foundry, harmonize very well when they sound together. The plenum, i.e. the sound of all bells, is only reserved for the major holidays.
literature
- Marco Collareta, Domenica Primerano (ed.): Un vescovo, la sua cattedrale, il suo tesoro. La committenza artistica di Federico Vanga (1207-1218) . Tipografia Editrice Temi, Trient 2012. ISBN 978-88-97372-39-4
- Aldo Gorfer: Trento. Città del Concilio. Ambience, storia e arte di Trento e dintorni. Editore Arca, Lavis 2003. ISBN 978-88-88203-10-2
Web links
- Website of the cathedral (Italian, partly German)
- Description of the dome on discovertrento.it
- Description of the early Christian basilica of San Vigilio on cultura.trentino.it
Individual evidence
- ^ Early Christian Basilica of San Vigilio , accessed on September 28, 2017.
- ↑ Marco Collareta, Domenica Primerano (ed.): Un vescovo, la sua cattedrale, il suo tesoro. La committenza artistica di Federico Vanga (1207–1218) p. 20
- ↑ Emperor Maximilian I's coronation in Trentino Online of February 3, 2008 in Italian accessed on October 13, 2017
- ↑ Andrea Bacchi, Luciana Giacomelli (ed.): Scultura in Trentino. Il Seicento e il Settecento: volume secondo Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Trento 2003 ISBN 88-86602-55-3 p. 305
- ^ Description of the Castelletto in Italian , accessed on October 2, 2017.
Coordinates: 46 ° 4 ′ 1.3 ″ N , 11 ° 7 ′ 18.3 ″ E