Ariano Irpino Cathedral, formerly Ariano Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Ariano or ''Ariano Irpino'', ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta''), 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 ...

Ariano Irpino Ariano Irpino (formerly Ariano di Puglia or simply Ariano) is an Italian city and municipality in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region. With a population of 22,535 (2017), it is the second-largest settlement of the Irpinia district an ...

(formerly ''Ariano di Puglia''), in the

province of Avellino The Province of Avellino ( it, Provincia di Avellino) is a province in the Campania region of Southern Italy. The area is characterized by numerous small towns and villages scattered across the province; only two towns have a population over 20,0 ...

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 ...

, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was formerly the episcopal seat of the diocese of Ariano, and is now that of the

diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

History and description

Ariano Cathedral is a Romanesque building 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 ...

groundplan, with three naves under groin vaulting, crossed by an elevated

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 ...

, terminating in the presbytery. The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to

Saint Ottone Frangipane Ottone Frangipane (1040 – 23 March 1127), also known as Saint Ottone (or Saint Otho), was a Rule of St Benedict, Benedictine monk and a hermit. He is patron saint of Ariano Irpino and the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia. Life Ottone is b ...

and Saint

Elzéar of Sabran Elzéar of Sabran, T.O.S.F., Baron of Ansouis, Count of Ariano, was born in the castle of Saint-Jean-de-Robians, near Cabrières-d'Aigues in Provence, southern France, in 1285. He died in Paris, France, on September 27, 1323. He was a tertia ...

, protectors of the city. In 1984

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

granted it the title 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 ...

. Originating from the 10th century and built on the ancient ruins of a temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, the building has been repeatedly ravaged by earthquakes and pillaging, leading to countless repairs and refurbishments over the centuries. Of the original structure all that is known is that it was ruined in an earthquake of 988. It was quickly rebuilt, and the new cathedral remained standing until 1255, when the troops of

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...

stormed the city wall and destroyed the entire city, including the cathedral, because of its loyalty to the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. The new king, Charles of Anjou, when he had defeated Manfred, had all the places rebuilt which Manfred had destroyed, including Ariano and its cathedral, although it was not completed until 1309. The new building was devastated by the earthquakes of

1349 Year 1349 ( MCCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 22 – An earthquake affects L'Aquila in southern Italy with a maximum Merca ...

and

1456 Year 1456 ( MCDLVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * May 18 – Second Battle of Oronichea (1456): Ottoman Forces of 15,000 are sent t ...

. The bishop at that time, Orso de Leone, undertook the responsibility of the rebuilding, of which remains can still be seen in the ancient crypt and in the lower part of the internal pilasters (now plastered). The cathedral suffered again in the earthquakes of 1688, 1702 and

1732 Events January–March * January 21 – Russia and Persia sign the Treaty of Riascha at Resht. Based on the terms of the agreement, Russia will no longer establish claims over Persian territories. * February 9 – The Swedish ...

. On the last occasion the then bishop, Filippo Tipaldi, completed the new construction in 1736, giving it the form and structure it has today. The interior is covered in plaster and stucco 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 ...

style, hiding the pilasters and arches of massive stone, and leaving no sign of the preceding Romanesque and Gothic features. Ariano Irpino Cathedral - night view

Externally the west front is Romanesque with a gabled (or double sloped) roof, built in 1500 in green

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

from Roseto. The three portals are also of this period, but 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 ...

s are later. The building, which is elevated above street level, is reached by an arrangement of steps of a later period. Ariano Cathedral has preserved a single thorn believed to have been taken from Jesus' crown of thorns. It has been recorded since 1633 that the thorn "bleeds" whenever

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

falls on 25 March, which is the traditional date for both 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 ...

and the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

of Christ. Even now the thorn and the treasure are retained in the Diocesan Museum of Silver, near the Cathedral.

Notes and references

External links

Diocesan website: History of the cathedral
{{coord, 41.1527, 15.0878, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Campania

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 ...

Churches in the province of Avellino 10th-century churches in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1736 Basilica churches in Campania Romanesque architecture in Campania Baroque architecture in Campania 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy