Terracina Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Terracina; Concattedrale di San Cesareo or ''dei Santi Cesareo e Pietro'') 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 denominatio ...

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 ...

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 ...

, dedicated to Saint

Caesarius of Terracina Saint Caesarius of Terracina (Saint Cesario deacon in Italian) was a Christian martyr. The church of San Cesareo in Palatio in Rome bears his name. Life Caesarius was a deacon of Africa, martyred at Terracina in Italy. The ''"Passio"'' (story of ...

and formerly to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

. Formerly the episcopal seat of the diocese of Terracina, it is now a co-cathedral in the diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno.

History

The cathedral was built in the 5th-6th centuries using the remains of a

Roman 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 ...

temple with five

naves 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 b ...

in the city

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

. The building underwent many alterations and restorations, among them those of the 11th century (reflecting its change of dedication from Saint Peter to the city's patron saint

in 1074), of the 13th century and above all the extreme restoration in the Baroque style of the 18th century, which reduced the church from five naves to three with the construction of side chapels and the covering over of the Romanesque A-framed ceiling with barrel vaulting. The cathedral was the site of the Papal conclave of 1088 which elected Pope Urban II. , the cathedral is undergoing another restoration.

Description

The portico, which stands at the top of a flight of 30 steps on the podium of the Roman temple, is of artistic interest. It contains six reused Classical columns with a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

in the centre, surmounted by an ancient entablature with mosaic decorations including the figures of a winged monster, an eagle, palms, deer, birds, bulls and other things. Beneath the portico are a funerary basin of the Roman age and pairs of beasts crouching to either side of the bases of the columns. A further 7 steps lead to the two entrances to the cathedral, of which the principal one is decorated with marble friezes of the Augustan period. To the north of the portico is the Romanesque campanile, curiously raised above ground level on four

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s. The interior has three naves separated by reused Roman columns, with side chapels. The two side naves terminate in

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''. ...

s, while the central one (which also has an apse, dating from 1729), terminates in a quadrangular space occupied by the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. The presbytery and the choir are about a metre higher than the three naves. The following features are of particular artistic interest: * the

Cosmatesque Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also u ...

pavement of the central nave (12th-13th centuries) * the medieval pulpit (first half of the 13th century), supported by five columns; * the spiral column, used to hold the Easter candle, of the mediaeval period; a marble inscription gives the maker and the date of the column: Crudele, 31 October 1245; *the 18th-century frescoes of the presbytery and choir, depicting episodes from the election of Pope Urban II.

External links

La Cattedrale di Terracina

Bibliography

* Christof Henning, 2006: ''Latium. Das Land um Rom. Mit Spaziergängen in der Ewigen Stadt.'' (3rd revised edition). DuMont: Köln (''Dumont-Kunst-Reiseführer''). * Anton Henze, 1994: ''Kunstführer Rom und Latium.'' Philipp Reclam GmbH: Stuttgart . {{Authority control Churches in the province of Latina Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Lazio