Agrigento Cathedral
The Cathedral of San Gerlando in Agrigento is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Agrigento , a diocese of the ecclesiastical region of Sicily of the Roman Catholic Church . It is the episcopal church of Francesco Montenegro , the Archbishop of Agrigento. The cathedral is located on the highest point of the mountain on which the old town of Agrigento is built. It is consecrated to St. Gerlandus, the first bishop of Agrigento after the re-establishment of the diocese in the 11th century and city patron of Agrigento.
history
The current church building was erected in the 11th century. After it had undergone numerous renovations over the centuries, it was almost restored to its medieval appearance in a restoration that was completed in 1980.
In the 15th century, an unfinished bell tower in the Catalan late Gothic style was added to the south of the main facade .
description
The cathedral is built on the plan of a Latin cross . A wide flight of stairs leads to the simple main facade.
The interior has three aisles with three apses, the side aisles are separated from the central nave by arches resting on octagonal pillars. The pillars in the right row have been returned to their medieval state, the pillars in the left row have been left in their condition from the 16th century.
The central nave has two sections. The western section (the first from the entrance) has a wooden ceiling with cantilever beams from 1518, which is decorated with paintings of saints, bishops and noble coats of arms. The second, slightly higher section of the central nave has a coffered ceiling. It dates from the end of the 17th century and bears a large coat of arms with a double-headed eagle of the House of Habsburg , to which the kings of Spain at that time belonged, to whose empire Sicily belonged.
In the right transept is the chapel of St. Gerlandus. It has a Gothic portal in the Chiaramont style . Inside are the remains of the saint's reliquary.
organ
The organ in the apse was built in 1933 by the Mascioni organ building company (opus 463). The instrument has 48 registers on three manuals and a pedal . The playing and stop actions are electric.
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literature
- Brigit Carnabuci: Sicily. Greek temples, Roman villas, Norman cathedrals and baroque cities in the center of the Mediterranean (= DuMont art travel guide ). 6th, updated edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7701-4385-6 .
- Pietro Griffo: Agrigento - Latest guide to the ancient and modern city . Soprintendenza alle antichità, Agrigento 1962.
Coordinates: 37 ° 18 ′ 50.7 " N , 13 ° 34 ′ 34.8" E
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on the organ ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Italian)
Web links
- La cattedrale di San Gerlando on lavalledeitempli.it