Reggio Emilia Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Reggio Emilia; 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 let ...

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 denominations ...

(and one of the three main religious buildings) in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abo ...

(

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, northern

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 ...

). The dedication is 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 ...

. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Reggio Emilia, it has been since 1986 that of the Diocese of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla.

Description

Built originally in Romanesque style, the cathedral was largely modified in the following centuries. The façade originally had 13th-century frescoes, now housed in the diocesan museum. The current façade is unfinished, with a 16th-century covering on the lower level, with pilasters surrounding niches containing the statues of the four patron saints of the city. The main portal has two statues by

Prospero Spani Prospero Spani (16 February 1516 – 25 May 1584) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, active mainly in the Province of Reggio Emilia. He is variously known as Prospero Clementi or Prospero Clemente or il Clemente. Vasari claimed he ...

(Prospero Sogari) in a style influenced by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

, portraying

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

. In February 2009 it was announced that a Roman mosaic floor filled with scenes depicting pagan rites and oriental gods had been discovered underneath the cathedral. The mosaic pavement, which measures 13 square meters and dates to the 4th century AD, was unearthed at a depth of about 4 meters below the ground during archaeological investigations in the crypt. The size and design of the mosaic pavement suggest that it formed the floor of a huge room.http://www.laportadeltempo.com/news.asp?ID=3805 The mosaic pavement has become an important piece of the Museo Diocesano (Museum of the Diocese), which exposes also fragments of ancient churches, dating back to the times of

Matilde di Canossa Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as t ...

, and a medieval

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 th ...

(Christ in throne amidst angels), originally located in the main altar of the cathedral.

The chapels

*The Brami Chapel has an altarpiece by Jacopo

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

*The Toschi Chapel was designed by

Girolamo Rainaldi Girolamo Rainaldi (4 May 1570 – 15 July 1655) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His son, Carlo Rainaldi, became an even ...

and decorated by Giuseppe Cesari, known as Il

Cavalier d'Arpino Giuseppe Cesari (14 February 1568 – 3 July 1640) was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino and called ''Cavaliere d'Arpino'', because he was created ''Cavaliere di Cristo'' by his patron Pope Clement VIII. He was much patroniz ...

, and by Cristoforo Roncalli, known as Il Pomarancio *The Rangone Chapel has a funeral monument to Bishop Ugo Rangone carved by

(Il Clemente). *The main altarpiece is an ''Assumption'' by

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari (c. 1540/1541August 6, 1609), was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad. Biography Zuccaro was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino (Marche). His docum ...

*The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament has traces of frescoes from the 1500s by a pupil of

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

, Giovanni Giarola. *The Fiordibelli Chapel has paintings by Giovan Francesco Barbieri known as Guercino There are also works by

Carlo Bononi Carlo Bononi (1569? - 1632) was an Italian painter. From an 1876 book: '' Giulio Cromer, Carlo Bononi a pupil of Bastaruolo, and Alfonso Rivarola or Chenda, were the last artists of any eminence in Ferrara.'' Page 175 Biography Born and acti ...

Francesco Vellani Francesco Vellani (1688–1768) was an Italian painter, active in Modena in a late Baroque style. He mainly painted sacred subjects. He painted an altarpiece depicting the ''Assumption of the Virgin'' for the Cathedral of Modena Modena Cat ...

, Sebastiano Vercellesi, and

Orazio Talami Orazio Talami (1624–September 15, 1705) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna and Reggio Emilia. Biography Talami was born and died in Reggio Emilia. He was a pupil of the painter Pietro Desani. He may have ...

, whilst

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of t ...

's '' The Virgin Appears to Saint Luke and Saint Catherine'' originally hung in the cathedral's notaries' chapel. The cupola frescoes are by Francesco Fontanesi (1779).

References

{{Coord, 44, 41, 51, N, 10, 37, 51, E, source:itwiki_region:IT, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Emilia-Romagna Roman Catholic churches in Reggio Emilia Romanesque architecture in Emilia-Romagna