Conversano Cathedral
The Cathedral of Conversano or the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption ( Italian Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta ) is a church in Conversano , Puglia, southern Italy . The cathedral of the diocese of Conversano-Monopoli is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and Flavianus of Constantinople . It has the rank of a minor basilica and is protected as an Italian national monument.
history
On the site of an ancient cult site and an earlier church, the cathedral was built in the 11th and 12th centuries in the Romanesque style. It was redesigned between 1358 and 1379 while retaining the original shape with additional sculptures, especially on the facade. During the baroque period , the interior was radically changed to meet the times. The now lowered ceiling was decorated with frescoes and everything was provided with stucco, and additional altars were set up in the side aisles. After the plans from 1877 to dismantle the Baroque style had been rejected, the church furnishings fell victim to a fire in 1911. The restoration in the Romanesque style lasted until 1926. In June 1997 Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica.
Building
The eastern cathedral of the Apulian Romanesque has its entrance to the Corte Altavilla , the ancient seat of the Counts of Conversano, off the main square. The gable facade is divided into three parts with pilasters , in the upper part it has a twelve-ray rose window from the 15th century with a double frame, with two smaller oculi on its sides. The central of the three portals is richly decorated with sculptures and has two lion figures that form a propylon with the tympanum . The construction of the bell tower has meanwhile been blocked halfway up by the abbesses of the nearby St. Benedict monastery . The clock was added later.
The floor plan of an Antonius cross with three naves leads to the apses facing east. A fifteenth-century fresco of the Pisan school covers the entire left apse . On both sides of the side aisles there are blind arches, in which, among other decorations, are the two most important pieces of equipment that escaped destruction by the fire of 1911: a wooden crucifix from the 15th century and the icon of Saint Mary of the Spring, the patron saint of the city.
In the right arm of the transept is an organ from the company Vegezzi Bossi from Turin, which is operated via two manuals and a pedal on an independent console.
literature
- Biagio Pesole: Il culto alla Vergine SS. Della Fonte in Conversano: note storiche. Putignano, De Robertis, 1965.
- Ubaldo Panarelli: La Cattedrale di Conversano: guida storico-artistica. Conversano, Associazione turistica Pro loco, 1980.
- Angelo Fanelli: Basilica cattedrale di Conversano. 2000.
- Pierfrancesco Rescio: La Cattedrale di Conversano. Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2001.
- Claudio Ermogene Del Medico: Organi e organisti a Conversano tra XVI e XX secolo. Conversano, Scisci, 2008.
- Rosaria Colaleo: I portali della Cattedrale di Conversano. Foggia, Parnaso, 2008.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Basilica Cattedrale di S. Maria Assunta on gcatholic.org
Coordinates: 40 ° 58 ′ 7 ″ N , 17 ° 6 ′ 52.2 ″ E