Acerno Cathedral (''Duomo di Acerno'', ''Concattedrale di San Donato'') is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, dedicated to

Saint Donatus of Arezzo Saint Donatus of Arezzo ( it, San Donato di Arezzo) is the patron saint of Arezzo, and considered a bishop of the city. A ''Passio'' of Donatus' life was written by a bishop of Arezzo, Severinus; it is of questionable historicity. He calls Don ...

, in the town of

Acerno Acerno, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the region of Campania in south-western Italy. Geography Acerno is a large village located 40 km north-east of the provincial capital of Salerno at 727 metres above sea level in ...

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. From the 11th century it was the seat of the

Bishop of Acerno The Diocese of Acerno was a Roman Catholic diocese based in Acerno, a distance of 68 km (42 mi.) from Naples in southern Italy, with the bishop's seat in Acerno Cathedral. Created in the 11th century, in 1818, the diocese was granted i ...

. The bishopric was united to the

Archbishopric of Salerno The Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno ( la, Archidioecesis Salernitana-Campaniensis-Acernensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1986. The historic Archdiocese of Salerno was in existence f ...

in 1818 to form the Archdiocese of Salerno-Acerno, renamed in 1986 the Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno, in which Acerno Cathedral is a co-cathedral.

History

Construction of the present building began in 1575 on the ruins of an earlier church which was declared the cathedral of the

diocese of Acerno The Diocese of Acerno was a Roman Catholic diocese based in Acerno, a distance of 68 km (42 mi.) from Naples in southern Italy, with the bishop's seat in Acerno Cathedral. Created in the 11th century, in 1818, the diocese was granted in ...

in 444 by

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history." Leo was ...

.RESTAURO E PARZIALE RICOSTRUZIONE DELLA CATTEDRALE DI S.DONATO-ACERNO (SALERNO), Acerno, 1989
As a consequence of many earthquakes, in particular that of 1980 and the fire that followed it, the structure has undergone numerous changes. As a result of a reconstruction project in 1989 the building has been completely restored and reopened for worship.

Internal structure

The interior, on a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

floorplan, consists of a central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and two side-aisles, a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

, an

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

and a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

, as well as the usual service areas. Because of the recent destruction no reliefs or decorative works are now to be seen, except for some 18th-century frescoes attributed to

Leonardo Pallante Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...

and the high altar.

External structure

As for the building's exterior, the very plain west front has a principal central doorway between two smaller ones, above which are two windows to either side of a small central

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

beneath a simple Classical

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

containing an ''

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

''. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

has four storeys and terminates in an onion dome with a metal shell.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org: Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno

{{coord, 40.7422, 15.0543, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Campania Churches in the province of Salerno