Palestrina Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Palestrina; Cattedrale di Sant'Agapito martire) 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 ...

located in

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

, region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

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 episcopal seat of the

Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina ( la, Diocesis Praenestina) is a Roman Catholic suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Domenico Sigalini, who from 3 Novemb ...

, and dedicated to Saint Agapitus.

History and description

Tradition holds that the church was founded atop the site of a temple dedicated to

Jove Jupiter ( la, Iūpiter or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus " sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( gen. ''Iovis'' ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religio ...

the Emperor, located in the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

forum of

Praeneste Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

. Documents cite the transfer in 898 of the relics of Saint Agapitus, since moved to the interior of the ''Basilica cimiteriale extramoenia delle Quadrelle''. The original paleo-Christian church was enlarged by bishop Conone with the addition to two lateral aisles and the construction of a crypt in the presbytery. The basilica was consecrated on 16 December 1117 by Pope Pasquale II. During the civil conflicts in 1437 between the

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

and the papacy, part of the facade including the bell-tower were razed, and the relics of Sain Agapitus were take to what is now

Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. ...

. A century later, they were returned at the request of Cardinal

Marcantonio Colonna Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, Spanish gener ...

and pope

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

. They are housed in a bejeweled bust of silver, and displayed in a public procession in honor of the saint held every 18 August. The facade, originally Romanesque-style has a portal built in 1505. It displays the heraldic coat of arms of Cardinal

Girolamo Bassi della Rovere Girolamo Basso della Rovere (1434–1507) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Life Basso della Rovere was born in Albissola Marina, the son of Giovanni Basso (Marquess of Bistagno and Monastero) and his wife Luchina del ...

, depicting Agapitus and his palm of martyrdom adjacent to the coat of arms of the Colonna family. The interior nave is decorated with medallions depicting Bishops of Praeneste, while the windows depict saints and martyrs associated with the town. Among the altarpieces are one depicting the ''Decapitation of Sant’Agapito'' by

Carlo Saraceni Carlo Saraceni (1579 – 16 June 1620) was an Italian early-Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968. Life Though he was born and died in ...

(last chapel on right), a ''Crucifixion with the Virgin and St Lawrence'' and a ''Savior'' by

Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta Girolamo is an Italian variant of the name Hieronymus. Its English equivalent is Jerome. It may refer to: * Girolamo Cardano (1501–1576), Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler * Girolamo Cassar (c. 1520 – after ...

. The frescoes around the main altar depict the life of Saint Agapitus by

Domenico Bruschi Domenico Bruschi (13 June 1840 – 19 October 1910) was an Italian painter and educator. Bruschi also designed tapestries, Renaissance revival wooden furniture, sculptures in stucco and stained glass windows. Bruschi served as the chair of Orname ...

. In the left nave is a stucco replica of the Pietà di Palestrina 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 insp ...

.Visit Lazio
website.

References

Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Lazio Churches in the metropolitan city of Rome {{Italy-RC-church-stub