Acqui Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Acqui, ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 ...

in the city of

Acqui Terme Acqui Terme (; pms, Àich ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'A ...

, in the

province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...

and the region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , 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 ...

. Dedicated to the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

, it is the seat of the

Bishop of Acqui The Roman Catholic Diocese of Acqui ( la, Dioecesis Aquensis) straddles the (civil) regions of Piedmont and Liguria, in northwest Italy. The ancient Roman name of the place was ''Aquae Statiellae'', which was sometimes confused with ''Aquae Sentia ...

History and description

While the bishopric has been established since at least the 4th century, the present cathedral building was begun under bishop Primo (989-1018) and was consecrated in 1067 by bishop

Guido Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

. The ground plan is in the shape of 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 ...

, and there are five aisles (but until the 18th century, only three), terminating in three semi-circular apses. Of the Romanesque structure there still remain visible the apses, the transept, and the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, which underlies both the transept and the choir. The remainder has been subject to further work in later centuries. The terracotta bell tower was finished in 1479, and the bells moved from the old campanile.Porter, p. 18, with note 24. The main entrance in marble, by Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte, dates from 1481, and the

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 ...

above it from around the same date, while the portico is 17th century. The interior was re-fitted in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

woodwork, and was decorated with frescos and stucco work from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Next door are the canons'

cloisters A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

of the late 15th century, and some

Roman 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 letter ...

ruins.

Works of art

Bartolomé Bermejo - Retablo della vergine di Montserrat

The 19th century pulpit and the Baroque altar of Saint Guido in the transept are worthy of note. The most important work of art in the cathedral by far however is the

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

of the ''Madonna di Montserrat'', the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

to the

Virgin of Montserrat Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat ( ca, Mare de Déu de Montserrat) is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat Mountain in Catalonia ...

, the work of the 15th century

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

painter

Bartolomé Bermejo Bartolomé Bermejo ( 1440 – c.1501) was a Spanish painter who adopted Flemish painting techniques and conventions. Born in Cordoba, he is known for his work in the Crown of Aragon, including the Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of ...

, in the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

Notes

Sources

* Crosetto A., (2001). ''Acqui Terme. Indagini archeologiche nella cripta della cattedrale (1991)''. "Quaderni della Soprintendenza Archeologica del Piemonte", 18. * *
Comune di Acqui: Monumenti

(article of 28 March 2004)
Diocese of Acqui
{{Coord, 44, 40, 27.17, N, 8, 28, 16.36, E, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Piedmont Roman Catholic churches in Acqui Terme Romanesque architecture in Piedmont

History and description

Works of art

See also

Notes

Sources