Todi Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Todi; Concattedrale della Santissima Annunziata) 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 ...

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

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 the

Annunciation of the Virgin Mary 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 ...

. It was formerly the seat of the bishops of Todi, and since 1986 has been a co-cathedral of the diocese of Orvieto-Todi.

History

The cathedral stands on the site 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 letter ...

edifice in the former Roman

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 ...

, in the present Piazza del Popolo in the centre of the city of Todi. Its early history is obscure. The earlier church here, believed to have been built around the year 1000, was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1190. The rebuilt cathedral was finished in the 14th century, but the structure has been refurbished and altered several times since then.

Description

Exterior

The cathedral stands above two terraces at the top of a flight of steps. The west front dates from the 13th century but has been modified several times, most recently in the 16th 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 ...

was begun in 1515 and completed under Bishop Biliotti between 1517 and 1523. The stained glass is not original, but is the result of 19th century restoration. The central portal, in wood, with a pointed arch, has a double door of 1521 by Antonio Bencivenni consisting of four upper panels depicting the Annunciation, the

Archangel Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, and six lower panels added in 1639. To the south of the frontage stands the

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 ...

of the 13th century, coeval with the

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 ...

Interior

Concattedrale della Santissima Annunziata - Interno

The cathedral is built on 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 ...

plan. The

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 ...

is subdivided into three aisles, of which the central one is the widest and tallest, separated by two arcades of round arches supported by

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. The main nave and side aisles are roofed with wooden beams, whereas the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

has

groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...

ing. At the entrance to the southern aisle is the font, made by Piero di Moricone from

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

in 1507. On the counterfaçade is a fresco of 1596 by

Ferraù Fenzoni Ferraù FenzoniName also written as Ferrau Fenzoni, Faenzoni, Fanzoni, Fanzone (1562 – 11 April 1645) was an Italian painter and draughtsman.

known as "Il Faenzone" depicting the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

, inspired 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 ...

's treatment of the same subject in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

. The wooden

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

are the work of Antonio Bencivenga and his son Sebastiano between 1521 and 1530. In the

is a crucifix painted on a panel, dating from the mid-13th century, while to the north of the presbytery is the Cesi Chapel, established by Bishop Angelo Cesi; the vault has frescoes of 1599 by Il Faenzone, who also created the painting on the chapel altar. In 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 ...

are three sculptures previously on the west front, attributed to

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 ...

and to "Il Rubeus".

Gallery

File:Todi009.jpg, The Gothic portal File:Cathédrale de Todi 2.jpg, Exterior of the apse File:Todi016.jpg, The ''Last Judgment'' (1594-99) by

Ferraù Fenzoni Ferraù FenzoniName also written as Ferrau Fenzoni, Faenzoni, Fanzoni, Fanzone (1562 – 11 April 1645) was an Italian painter and draughtsman.

File:Todi014.jpg, The high altar and the ''Crucifixion'' (13th century)

Bibliography

* Prandi, Adriano, 1980: ''Ombrie romane'', pp. 269-283. Zodiaque, Abbaye Sainte-Marie de la Pierre-Qui-Vire, Saint-Léger-Vauban * Santini, Loretta, 1987: ''L'Ombrie, nouveau guide'', p. 59. Éditions Plurigraf, Narni - Terni * Touring Club Italiano, 2004: ''L'Italia: Umbria''. Touring Club Italiano-La Biblioteca di Repubblica

External links

Todi.org - La Cattedrale di Todi

{{coord, 42, 46, 59, N, 12, 24, 22, E, type:landmark_region:IT_dim:100, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Umbria 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in Todi