''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition not a cathedral. On the other hand, the city of Trevi no longer has a bishop, although it once did, and the erstwhile cathedral of

Emilianus of Trevi Saint Emilianus of Trevi ( it, Emiliano di Trevi), sometimes known as Miliano (died 304), was a 4th-century bishop of Trevi, martyred under Diocletian. Life An account of his life is given in the ''Passio Sancti Miliani''. Emilianus came to Spo ...

is now a mere church. By contradistinction, the Italian word for a cathedral ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' is ''cattedrale''. There is no direct translation of "duomo" into English, leading to many such churches being erroneously called "cathedral" in English, regardless of whether the church in question hosts a bishop. Many people refer to particular churches simply as ''il Duomo'', the ''Duomo'', without regard to the full proper name of the church. Similar words exist in other European languages: ''Dom'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

), ''dom'' (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

), ''dóm'' ( Hungarian and Slovak), ''dôme'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

), ''domo'' ( Portuguese), ''doms'' ( Latvian), ''tum'' (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

), ''domkirke'' (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

and Norwegian), ''dómkirkja'' ( Icelandic), ''domkyrka'' (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

), ''toomkirik'' (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

), ''tuomiokirkko'' ( Finnish) and so on. Also in these languages the respective terms do not necessarily refer to a church functioning as a cathedral, but also to proto-cathedrals or simply prominent church buildings, which have never been a cathedral in the exact sense of that word. German ''Dom'' and Polish ''tum'' became the

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common Engl ...

used – '' pars pro toto'' – for most existing or former collegiate churches. Therefore, the uniform translation of these terms into English as "cathedrals" may not always be appropriate and should be used on a contextual basis. According to the '' Oxford English Dictionary'' and the ''

Zingarelli ''Zingarelli'' is a modern Italian monolingual dictionary. Described as a ''Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana'' di Nicola Zingarelli, it is published annually by the Zanichelli publishing house. The first edition is dated 1917. References

'', the word '' duomo'' derives from the Latin word ''

domus In Ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (plural ''domūs'', genitive ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

'', meaning "house", as a cathedral is the "house of God", or ''domus Dei''. The ''Garzanti online dictionary'' also gives the etymology as deriving from "house", but "house of the bishop" instead. Italian cathedrals are often highly decorated and contain notable artworks; in many cases the buildings themselves are true artworks. Perhaps the best known ''duomo'' is the one in Florence, but other well-known cathedrals include the

Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and those of Siena, Alba, Ancona, Mantua and Parma. File:Speyer - Altpörtel - Blick auf Domfassade und Kirchtürme mit Abendsonne.jpg, Speyer Cathedral, Germany File:Milano, Duomo, 2016-06 CN-03.jpg,

, Italy File:Temple Saint Sava.jpg, Cathedral of Saint Sava, Serbia File:Salzburg Dom Fassade 02.jpg, Salzburg Cathedral, Austria File:Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki Ralf.jpg, Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral, Finland File:Mainzer Dom, Leichhof (2008-04-23 Sp).jpg,

Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...

, Germany File:Worms - Worms Cathedral - 20190322081012.jpeg,

Worms Cathedral St Peter's Cathedral (German: ''Wormser Dom'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Worms, southern Germany. The cathedral is located on the highest point of the inner city of Worms and is the most important building of the Roma ...

, Germany File:Aachen Germany Imperial-Cathedral-01.jpg,

Aachen Cathedral Aachen Cathedral (german: Aachener Dom) is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen. One of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, it was constructed by order of Emperor Charlemagne, who was buri ...

, Germany File:Frankfurt-Dom.jpg, Frankfurt Cathedral, Germany

References

{{Authority control * Types of church buildings