Latina Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di San Marco, Duomo di Latina) is a Roman Catholic

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 ...

, dedicated to

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

, situated in the centre of the city of

Latina, Lazio Latina () is the capital of the province of Latina in the Lazio region, in central Italy. , the city has 126,612 inhabitants and is the second-largest city of the region, after the national capital Rome. It was founded in 1932 under the fascist ...

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 ...

. It is the seat of the bishops of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno.

History

On 30 June 1932 the first stone was laid of the city of Littoria, subsequently renamed Latina, intended as an additional ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' between the existing ones of

Cisterna A cisterna (plural cisternae) is a flattened membrane vesicle found in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Cisternae are an integral part of the packaging and modification processes of proteins occurring in the Golgi. Function Protein ...

and

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

. The project of the new town was entrusted to the architect Oriolo Frezzotti, who among the other buildings planned a church in the town centre. Construction began in 1932 and finished the following year; the church was inaugurated and consecrated on 18 December 1933. The parish was instituted on 23 November 1933 by Cardinal

Enrico Gasparri Enrico Gasparri S.T.D. JUD (25 July 1871 – 20 May 1946) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop. Biography Enrico was ordained on 10 August 1894 at the age of 23. He studied in Rome receiving degrees in theology and philosophy and w ...

bishop of Velletri A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

; the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

were invited by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

to be responsible for San Marco on the insistence of the population and of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

. From 1967 the city became part of the diocese of Terracina-Latina, Priverno and Sezze: but keeping the ancient episcopal seats of the dioceses and cathedrals of

Sezze Sezze (from the Latin "Setia") is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Latina, central Italy, about south of Rome and from the Mediterranean coast. The historical center of Sezze is located on a high hill commanding the Pontine plain. Th ...

and

Priverno Priverno is a town, ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy. It was called ''Piperno'' until 1927. It has a station of the Rome-Naples railway mainline. Nearby is the Monti Lepini chain. It was the birthplace of the canonist Regi ...

, the bishops decided to place a single central residence in

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer t ...

, where the offices of the bishops'

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

were also opened. On 30 September 1986, with the decree ''Instantibus votis'' of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...

and the union of the seats with the formula ''plena unione'', the church of San Marco in Latina became the cathedral of the "new" diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno.

Description

Exterior

The lower parts of the exterior walls contain alternating bands of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

and

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

. The gabled west front has a portico with three high round-arched openings in front standing on square pilasters, and corresponding to each arch a doorway behind opens into the body of the church, each one surmounted by a single window filled with

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. In the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

are the sculptured

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

, while on the pilasters in the angles are statues of the Four Evangelists. To the south of the church, in an isolated position, stands the tall

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, built on a square groundplan, also with alternating bands of tuff and travertine. The bell chamber at the top contains three bells and on each side has a window with a single opening. Above the bell chamber stands a marble replica of the '' Madonnina'' on top of

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 ...

Interior

Latina, Cattedrale di San Marco - Interno

The cathedral interior consists of a single-aisled

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with four chapels to each side. The nave is covered by an open wooden

A-frame An A-frame is a basic structure designed to bear a load in a lightweight economical manner. The simplest form of an A-frame is two similarly sized beams, arranged in an angle of 45 degrees or less, attached at the top, like an uppercase lett ...

d roof divided into four bays by ''

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building s ...

'' of yellow marble. The chapels are roofed by

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

ing and lit by high single windows; they are connected by high round arches. The fourth chapel on the south side, which is deeper than the others, has on its back wall a marble altar dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

surmounted by a wooden polychrome statue of the

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

. The nave terminates in a long

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

between the

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

on the north side and a statue of Saint Mark by F. Magni on the south side. The apse contains the presbytery which is raised on several steps above the body of the church. At its centre is the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

over which hangs a

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

, and the bishop's throne (''

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

''). The back wall is decorated by a band of modern

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s by V. Cinti.

References

Bibliography

* Pier Giacomo Sottoriva, ''Latina'', in ''Lazio. Una Regione da scoprire'', Biblioteca Regionale Illustrata, Volume 7, Editalia, Roma 2006. * Diocesi di Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno ''Annuario diocesano 1997'', Latina 1997. * AA.VV., ''Guida rapida d'Italia. Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Sardegna'', Touring Club Italiano, Milano 1995 {{coord, 41.4645, N, 12.9029, E, source:wikidata, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Lazio Churches in the province of Latina 1933 establishments in Italy 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1933