260px, View of the cathedral from the north-west
260px, The main portal
Massa Marittima Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Massa Marittima; ''Cattedrale di San Cerbone'') 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
Massa Marittima
Massa Marittima (Latin: ''Massa Veternensis'') is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.
There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironw ...
,
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
,
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
Saint Cerbonius. Formerly the episcopal seat of the
Diocese of Massa Marittima, it is now that of the
Diocese of Massa Marittima-Piombino.
Architecture
The cathedral measures by and is built on the ground plan of 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 ...
.
The
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...
reveals the different influences which inspired the anonymous architect: the
blind arcade
A blind arcade or blank arcade is an arcade (a series of arches) that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e., the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is ...
s in the lower part, decorated with circular openings and
lozenge
Lozenge or losange may refer to:
* Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus
*Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments
*Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
s, the
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
to in the middle part and the surmounting
tympanum are in
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
n
Romanesque style. The large
ogival
An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking.
Etymology
The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...
mullioned window
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
and the three
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
s show instead a
Sienese
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
influence.
The central portal flanked by two lion columns has five panels dating from the early 13th century illustrating the legend of Saint Cerbonius. The three central columns of the tympanum rest on three figures: a bearded man, a
griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
and a horse.
The
bell tower
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 ...
is the original 13th-century one in the lower part while the upper area is a 19th-century addition. The polygonal
tambour
In classical architecture, a tambour ( Fr.: "drum") is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration.
The term also applies to the wall of a circular structure, whether on the ground or raised ...
, standing at , is from the 15th century.
Interior
The interior has a
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
plan with an
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 ...
and two aisles, divided by cylindrical columns and
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s which end in complex composite
capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
. Next to the entrance door, under the 14th century
triptych
A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...
of the ''Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints'', is a Roman
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
from the 4th century. On the right of the counter-façade is a series of panels in soft stone, dating from the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
or, according to some sources, to the 12th-13th century. Over the panels are
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es of 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 the 14th century, and the legend of
Saint Julian, of the 15th century.
The central
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 ...
has rare
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 ...
of the
Sienese School. On the left is the monumental
baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism.
Aspersion and affusion fonts
The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...
, with a rectangular bath surmounted by a small temple. The
baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
dates from 1267.
The south aisle houses paintings/sculptures of the ''Madonna in Glory'' by Antonio Nasini (late 17th century) and the ''
Nativity of the Virgin'' by
Rutilio Manetti
Rutilio di Lorenzo Manetti (c. 1571 – 22 July 1639) was an Italian painter of late-Mannerism or proto-Baroque, active mainly in Siena.
Biography
He was influenced and/or taught by the local artists Francesco Vanni and Ventura Salimbeni. He is k ...
(16th century). In the chapel on the right of the
presbytery is a painted cross by
Segna di Bonaventura
Segna di Bonaventura, also known as Segna de Bonaventura, and as Segna di Buonaventura, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School. He was active from about 1298 to 1331. In 1306 he painted a panel for the office of the Biccherna in the Palazz ...
(14th century). The wooden
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
is of the 17th century. Also by Rutilio Manetti are the paintings/sculptures of the ''
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
'' and the ''Eternal Father'' in the chapel to the right of the major one.
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 ...
, in marble (1626), has a
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
wooden
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 ...
by
Giovanni Pisano
Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Rom ...
(early 14th century). At the foot of the altar are two wooden angels from the 15th century, by Domenico di Niccolò dei Cori. Behind it is the ''Ark of Saint Cerbonius'', which was created in 1342, with reliefs depicting stories of the saint.
On the right wall is a 15th-century fresco of ''Saint Cerbonius Accompanied by Ducks'', while a ''
Maestà
Maestà , the Italian word for "majesty", designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The ''Maestà'' is an extension of the "Sea ...
'' attributed to
Duccio di Buoninsegna
Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...
(1316) can be seen in the chapel to the left of the major one, together with an ''
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 ...
'' by
Raffaello Vanni
Raffaello Vanni (1590 ca-1673) was an Italian painter of the Baroque.
Biography
He was born at Siena. He first trained with his father, Francesco Vanni, who died in 1610. He was afterwards sent to Rome, and recommended to the care of Antonio Ca ...
(17th century).
The
crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
houses small statues of prophets and saints by an unknown mid-14th-century Sienese sculptor, and a 15th-century fresco, ''Crucifixion with Saint Cerbonius and Saint Bonaventura of Siena''.
Sources
*
External links
Massa Marittima Cathedral interiors
{{coord, 43.0497, N, 10.8879, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title
Romanesque architecture in Tuscany
Churches in the province of Grosseto
Roman Catholic churches in Tuscany
Massa Marittima
Massa Marittima (Latin: ''Massa Veternensis'') is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.
There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironw ...
Cathedrals in Tuscany
Massa Marittima