Barletta Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Barletta, Concattedrale di Santa Maria Maggiore) 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 ...

in Barletta,

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, southern

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 seat of the archbishops of Barletta and Nazareth, it is currently a co-cathedral in the

Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie ( la, Archidioecesis Tranensis-Barolensis-Vigiliensis (-Nazarensis)) is a Latin rite archbishopric in the administrative province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the southeastern Italian regi ...

. It was built in two different styles, Romanesque and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, from the 12th century to the 14th century. Cattedrale barletta interno 2

History

The church occupies the site of ancient

hypogeum A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek language, Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb. Hypogea will often contain niche (archite ...

structures dating from the late 4th-early 3rd centuries BC, attributed to an ancient temple dedicated to

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

. From the 6th century AD a first palaeo-Christian basilica existed here, having three naves with a central apse, five meters under the current cathedral. After the destruction of the ancient

Canosa Canosa may refer to: * Canosa (surname), surname * Canosa di Puglia, town and comune in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy * Canosa Sannita Canosa Sannita () is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo ...

by Muslim raiders, numerous clerics moved to the Barlettan church, which was renamed as ''Santa Maria de Auxilio'': the 9th century structure had 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 ...

plan, with a pavement mosaic of which traces exist today. A Romanesque church was built over the pre-existing one in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times (12th century), known as ''Sancta Maria Majoris''. Late in the same century the bell tower was also raised, and the capitals of the cyborium were executed by oriental artists. Later the matronei, the mullioned window 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 ...

of the western façade were added. The new church was consecrated in 1267. It had a nave and two aisles, divided by two rows each composed of three granite columns and three pillars. In the 13th century two bays and three semicircular apses (similar to those in

Trani Cathedral Trani Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Trani; Cattedrale di San Nicola Pellegrino) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim in Trani, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. Formerly the seat of the archbishop of Trani, it is now th ...

) were also added. Barletta cattedrale apr06 01

In the 13th century the Palatine Count Giovanni Pipino da Barletta, a friend of king

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...

, promoted a further expansion of the church. The edifice was enlarged eastwards, with a new choir and the removal of the apse and other parts, replaced by new Gothic structures. The renovation ended only in the 16th century.

Description

The church is oriented from east to west, with the Gothic ambulatory oriented eastwards, towards the

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

and the Palazzo Santacroce. The bell tower is located on the northern side, and gives access to the castle through an archway under which are remains of the ancient church's pavement. The church has a rich medieval decoration including capitals with animals, monsters and other fantastic figures. The main façade had originally three portals: the central one, destroyed in unknown circumstances, was replaced by a Renaissance one. Some

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 from the original portal are inside the cathedral, portraying scenes of the Last Supper and the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem.

Sources

* *

External links

Museo Cattedrale Barletta
{{coord, 41, 19, 14, N, 16, 17, 10, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Apulia Churches in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani Romanesque architecture in Apulia Gothic architecture in Apulia 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy