Acerenza Cathedral
The Cathedral of Acerenza or the Cathedral of the Assumption and St. Canius ( Italian Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta e San Canio ) is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Acerenza in the municipality of the same name in the Province of Potenza in the southern Italian region of Basilicata . The cathedral basilica bears the patronage of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and of Bishop St. Canius.
history
The cathedral at Acerenza was built between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries on the ruins of an older, early Christian church. This in turn was built on the remains of an ancient temple from Roman times, which was dedicated to Hercules Acheruntino.
Construction began in 1059 with the support of the Norman ruler Robert Guiskard under Bishop Godano, who was the first to receive the title of Archbishop of Acerenza. The work was completed by his successor Arnoldo. In 1281 the cathedral was redesigned in Gothic-Romanesque style and received three apses in the choir and a facade with three portals. The building was damaged by an earthquake in 1456 and was long neglected due to the absence of the archbishops. It was not until 1524 that the cathedral was restored thanks to Ferillo de Acerenza. Two bell towers with five bells today were added, but the left one was lost. In 1555 the crypt was consecrated again. In the same year, Pietro di Muro Lucano redesigned the right bell tower in the Renaissance style .
After the earthquakes of 1921 and 1930, the destroyed dome was first replaced by a pedestal and rebuilt from 1934 onwards. At the same time, elements of a Baroque style were removed from the interior . In 1953 the ascent to the choir and the stairs to the crypt were redesigned. 1956 awarded Pope Pius XII. the cathedral also has the title of a minor basilica .
Building
The three-aisled , Romanesque basilica faces west and has the floor plan of a Latin cross. It has a length of 69 meters and a width of 23 meters. The ten columns between the central and side aisles carry a half-timbered ceiling. The crossing dome rises above a drum . Under the dome the delimited and raised choir begins with the main altar under a wooden crucifix from the 17th century, which hangs in the semicircular apse. The transepts each have chapels in conches on the choir side . The right chapel shows an important polyptych with a rosary Madonna with Thomas Aquinas . It was created by Antonio Stabile in 1583. The secrets of the rosary are presented on the 15 openable panels . The marble bust of Emperor Julian is very significant . The crypt under the choir is designed in the Renaissance style. It was modeled on the Chapel of Succorpo in the Cathedral of Naples . The crypt consists of a square room in which four central columns with heavily decorated pulvinars support the cross vault with nine fields. The walls are decorated with frescoes.
literature
- L'Italia. Basilicata e Calabria , Touring Club Italiano, 2005, Milano.
- Alfredo Borghini: Itinerari di Federico II nella provincia di Potenza , 2000.
Web links
- La cathedral di acerenza. In: Medioevo.org (with picture gallery)
Individual evidence
- ^ Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta e San Canio vescovo on gcatholic.org
Coordinates: 40 ° 47 ′ 50 ″ N , 15 ° 56 ′ 30 ″ E