Acquapendente-basilica san sepolcro-facciata

Acquapendente Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Acquapendente, ''Basilica Cattedrale di San Sepolcro'') 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 the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

, in the town of

Acquapendente Acquapendente is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio (Italy). Acquapendente is a centre for the agricultural production of vegetables and wine, and has a tradition of pottery craftsmanship. History The area of modern Acquapen ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

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 ...

. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Acquapendente, it is now a co-cathedral in the

Diocese of Viterbo The Diocese of Viterbo ( la, Dioecesis Viterbiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. From the 12th century, the official name of the diocese was the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania. In 1 ...

History

The building was in origin the church of a former

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

the church was very popular as a destination for pilgrims and cripples seeking miraculous cures. It was made a cathedral in 1649 as the seat of the

Bishop of Acquapendente The Italian Roman Catholic diocese of Acquapendente was an ecclesiastical territory in Lazio. The seat of the bishop was in the cathedral of Acquapendente, dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre (''San Sepolcro''). The diocese was established in 1649, wh ...

, a diocese created in that year in succession to the suppressed Diocese of Castro del Lazio, from the former cathedral of which it received many treasures and furnishings, and the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of Saint Bernard of Castro. The bishopric was united on 27 March 1986 with several others to form the Diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, Bagnoregio, Montefiascone, Tuscania e San Martino al Monte Cimino (renamed in 1991 the

), in which Acquapendente Cathedral is a co-cathedral. It has also traditionally enjoyed the status of a

basilica minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...

Description

Originally the church of a former Benedictine monastery, the present building began as a Romanesque church of the 12th century. It has been the object of many attempts at beautification over the centuries, however, particularly since becoming a cathedral, and the original structure is overlaid by the many later works, largely of painted terracotta and stucco, such as the Neoclassical west front. The crypt, which dates from the second half of the 10th century and is thus older than the main structure, is of especial interest, for its unusual arrangement of pillars, which divide the space into nine small aisles, and for the elaborately carved zoomorphic capitals of the pillars themselves. The crypt also contains a blood-stained stone said to come from the

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, whence the dedication. The cathedral also contains two

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s credited to

Agostino di Duccio Agostino di Duccio (1418 – ) was an early Renaissance Italians, Italian sculptor. Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from ...

: ''

Tobias and the Angel Tobias and the Angel is the title given to paintings and other artworks depicting a scene from the Book of Tobit in which Tobias, son of Tobit, meets an angel without realising he is an angel (5.5–6) and is then instructed by the angel what to ...

'' and the '' Victory of Saint Michael over the Dragon''.

References

External links

GCatholic.org: Diocese of Viterbo

Official website of the ''comune'': Romanesque crypt with nine aisles
{{coord, 42.7426, 11.8713, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Churches in the province of Viterbo Cathedrals in Lazio Neoclassical architecture in Lazio Acquapendente Neoclassical church buildings in Italy