Cathedral of the Assumption (Victoria)
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Citadel of Victoria ( Maltese Knisja Katidrali ta 'Għawdex , English Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ) is the episcopal church of the Diocese of Gozo , which includes the islands of Gozo and Comino . It was built between 1697 and 1711 according to designs by the Maltese baroque master builder Lorenzo Gafà . He also built the Malta Cathedral .
history
Gozo Cathedral is the third church building to be erected on this site. The first, original Byzantine architecture from the 6th century was destroyed by the Arabs between 870 and 1127 and replaced by a mosque . There are no more traces of it on the cathedral today, only the remains of a Phoenician Astarte and a later Roman Juno temple above it. However, historical documents show that the Norman Prince Roger I had a mosque converted back into a church at this point in 1127. At a time when the majority of Maltese Christians lived on the island of Gozo (1127–1249), it probably served as the cathedral of Malta and Gozo . It was named Sanctae Mariae Ecclesia Matrice or Mother Church of Gozo in 1435 and was dedicated to the Assumption of Mary .
For a long time the island of Gozo suffered from the attacks of the corsairs and Saracens , who enslaved the people. The church fell victim to a pirate attack in 1551, but was again poorly repaired. Only three years later the process was repeated. Life here was so dangerous at the time that until 1673 the population was required by law to spend the nights inside the citadel. After the earthquake of 1693, a new building was finally decided and implemented according to the designs of Lorenzo Gafà. The foundation stone was laid on September 21, 1697 and Gafà's masterpiece was consecrated on October 11, 1716. Pope Pius IX used it on September 16, 1864 as the cathedral of the newly established Diocese of Gozo [and Comino] . In 1992, Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral for the first time.
architecture
The cathedral of the Diocese of Gozo was built between 1697 and 1711 according to the designs of the Maltese Lorenzo Gafà with locally available limestone in the finest Baroque architecture and a large, free-standing bell tower on the northeast side. For financial reasons, the originally planned dome was dispensed with and limited to a simple floor plan in the form of a Latin cross and an unadorned outer facade. In order to give the impression of a domed building, Antonio Manuele Pippi von Messina later created the famous perspective ceiling painting inside, which looks like a dome by means of optical illusion ( trompe l'œil painting). The five old bells have now been replaced by five new bells from the British bell manufacturer John Taylor Bellfounders Limited of Loughborough, Leicestershire. They sound regularly on special occasions.
Two huge bronze statues in front of the cathedral have adorned the main portal since 2006 : Pope Pius IX. on the left and Pope John Paul II, who visited the cathedral in 1992, on the right. Both figures are works by A. Camilleri-Cauchi on behalf of the Fondaria Storica Chiurazzi di Napoli.
Furnishing
The very graceful and harmonious interior of the cathedral has all the characteristics of the Gafà architectural style. The flat ceiling with the trompe l'œil ceiling painting finally completes the aperture of the cathedral.
The organ of the Assumption Cathedral in Gozo is a masterpiece of the Hessian Werner Bosch organ building .
Central nave
Grave slabs from the 17th to 19th centuries with inlay work in different colored marble cover the entire church floor, below which knights are buried. The baptismal font (left of the main portal) and the replica (opposite) were formed in 1742 from a block of onyx found on the island of Gozo. The paintings in the central nave , which represent episodes from Maria's life, are particularly valuable . Above the windows is the depiction of the apostles, on the window sides that of the prophets. They were all created by Gianni Vella (1909–1917).
If you walk the central nave over the beautiful marble grave slabs in front of the presbytery, sooner or later you will notice the famous perspective ceiling painting, which looks like a dome by means of optical illusion ( trompe l'œil painting). It is the masterpiece of Antonio Manuele Pippi von Messinas from 1739.
The altar table and the matching ambo were made by Alfred Camilleri-Cauchi in 2000 from a single block of Carrara marble and gilded bronze ornaments. The bishop's throne is behind it. There on the right is also the monument to Pope Pius IX, created by Mario Gori in 1864. The high altar (Rome, Vincenzo Belli, 1858) is worked into the cathedral with valuable malachite and a gilded frame. Behind the high altar are the chestnut wood choir stalls with 24 seats for the canons and 14 seats for the diocese priests. The main altar painting shows the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Michele Busutti, 1791), who was solemnly crowned on August 15, 1975. The two large side walls of the Birth of the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception were also painted by Busutti two years later. The side paintings Publius and Agatha of Catania are by Attilo Palombi. He painted it in 1900.
North aisle
The first chapel with an altar by Tommaso Madiona (1852) is dedicated to the so-called Apostle of Rome Philipp Neri , who was an outstanding figure of the Counter-Reformation in Rome in the 16th century. The small vault and the lunettes in this chapel as well as the others here are the work of the artist Pawlu Camilleri-Cauchi (1990-2005).
The pious statue of the Virgin Mary (Rome, 1897) to the left of the Philipp Neris Chapel was donated to the Cathedral of Gozo and Comino by the Leone Philharmonic Society on April 29, 1956. It stands on a silver base. Every year on August 15, she is carried shoulder-high through the city of Victoria during a Marian procession since the Leone Philharmonic Society introduced the external celebrations of Mary in 1897.
The North Entrance Chapel shows the patron saints of all the villages of Gozo, each wearing a miniature of their respective village church. There is an inscription on the front door commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the cathedral on May 30, 1992. An altar by Michele Busutti (1792) commemorates Joseph's flight to Egypt . Under the arch is the monument by Antonio Sciortino from 1940, which shows the 3rd Bishop of Gozo (Pietro Pace).
North transept
The north transept shows the Lord's Supper by Giuseppe d'Arena (1703), his masterpiece and one of the most important paintings in the cathedral. The plaque at the entrance to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel contains the part of the speech John Paul II. During his visit to the cathedral on May 26, 1992. The altar of Our Lady of Soledad in this chapel is by Francesco Zahra (1751). On the left is the Giovanni Castelletti Memorial (1544, renovated in 1717), on the right the grave of Bishop Giuseppe Paces, who was the 6th Bishop of Gozo. It was made by Carlo Pisi in 1962.
South transept
The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary is by an unknown Roman artist around 1716. On its base is a portrait of Pope Pius IX. set up.
South aisle
In the Chapel of Relics (reliquary chapel ) is the altar The Transfiguration of the Lord (1736). The bust here shows Ursula of Cologne , who is the patron saint of Gozo. According to the Legenda aurea, she was a Breton king's daughter and missionary in Roman Britain. On the left side of the Chapel of Relics there is a memorial and grave of the recently deceased Bishop Nikol Cauchi, 7th Bishop of Gozo (by Alfred Camilleri-Cauchi, 2012).
The St Ursula Chapel shows an altar by Giuseppe Hyzler from 1831. Below is the grave of Bishop Ġwanni-Marija Camilleris, the 4th Bishop of Gozo. The sacristy can be reached via the south chapel . The paintings here show the donation of the Virgin Mary statue to the Assumption Cathedral of Gozo in 1956, as well as the famous Operation Pedestal in 1942 during the Second World War. Among them is the Vincenzo Apaps monument from 1976 for Bishop Michael Gonzi , 5th Bishop of Gozo. Another chapel near the cathedral entrance shows the founder of the Paulan order Franz von Paola with an altar painting .
Web links
- Official website of the Cathedral of the Assumption of Gozo
- Cathedral on the International Database of Structures and Civil Engineers
Coordinates: 36 ° 2 ′ 46.7 ″ N , 14 ° 14 ′ 24 ″ E