Arezzo Cathedral
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Arezzo Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Arezzo, Duomo di Arezzo, Cattedrale di Ss. Donato e Pietro) 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 the city of
Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...
in
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 ...
. It is located on the site of a pre-existing Palaeo-Christian church and, perhaps, of the ancient city's
acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
.


History

The first cathedral of Arezzo was built on the nearby Pionta Hill, over the burial place of
Donatus of Arezzo Saint Donatus of Arezzo ( it, San Donato di Arezzo) is the patron saint of Arezzo, and considered a bishop of the city. A ''Passio'' of Donatus' life was written by a bishop of Arezzo, Severinus; it is of questionable historicity. He calls Don ...
, martyred in 363. In 1203
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
had the cathedral moved within the city's walls, to the current site. The cathedral however lost the relics of Donatus, which were transferred to the church of San Donato in
Castiglione Messer Raimondo Castiglione Messer Raimondo (locally ''Castiùne'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Teramo, Abruzzo, central Italy. It is a medieval borough near the Gran Sasso d'Italia Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mou ...
(in what is now the
province of Teramo The Province of Teramo ( it, provincia di Teramo; Abruzzese: ') is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Teramo. The province has an area of , a population of 313,029 (2012), and is subdivided into 47 comunes ( i ...
). In spite of this, the cathedral is still dedicated to Saint Donatus and at the high altar houses a 14th-century arch named after him. The construction of the current structure, started in 1277, went through different phases, and ended in 1511. The façade was built in 1901–1914, replacing the previous, unfinished one, dating to the 15th century. It was the seat of the
Bishop of Arezzo The Italian Catholic diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro has existed since 1986. In that year the historic diocese of Arezzo was combined with the diocese of Cortona and the diocese of Sansepolcro, the enlarged diocese being suffragan of the ar ...
from the 3rd century until 1986, and from 1986 onwards has been that of the present Bishop of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro.


Description


Exterior

The façade was designed by Dante Viviani and has sculpted decorations by Giuseppe Cassioli, Enrico Quattrini and Viviani himself. The south side of the church is from the original medieval building, in
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
. In the middle is a 14th-century portal in Florentine style, with two porphyry columns taken from an ancient temple. The polygonal apse, with double
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 ...
s, dates to the 13th century.


Interior

The interior has a nave and two aisles divided by piers with ogival arches, with five spans covered by
cross 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: Lau ...
ing, without a
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 ...
. The seven stained glass windows in the south aisles were executed in 1516-1524 by
Guillaume de Marcillat Guillaume de Marcillat (ca. 1470–1529) was a French painter and stained glass artist. Biography He was born in La Châtre, Indre about 1470. He was in Rome by 1509, where he was employed by the popes Julius II and Leo X in the Vatican an ...
, who also painted frescos of biblical scenes on the ceiling. Almost a century and a half after the work of Marcillat,
Salvi Castellucci Salvi Castellucci (1608–1672) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Arezzo where he painted frescos on the ceiling (fourth and fifth aisles) of Arezzo Cathedral. He trained in Rome with Pietro da Cortona. His son, P ...
completed the fresco work on the fourth and fifth aisles. Other stained glass windows are in the presbytery, one also by Marcillat and another by early 15th-century Florentine masters. The presbytery houses a large arch dedicated to Saint Donatus. Sculpted in marble, it has twelve small piers terminating in spires and pinnacles in Gothic style and was executed by Florentine, Aretine and Sienese artists of the 14th century, including (in the lower section)
Agnolo di Ventura Agnolo may refer to: * Gabriele Agnolo, an Italian architect * Agnolo (given name), an Italian masculine given name See also * Agnoli Agnoli is an Italian surname A name in the Italian language consists of a given name ( it, nome), and a sur ...
and
Agostino di Giovanni Agostino da Siena or Agostino di Giovanni () was an Italian architect and sculptor, active between 1310 and 1347. Biography According to the Italian Renaissance biographer Giorgio Vasari, Agostino was born into a Siena, Sienese family of sculpto ...
. The wooden choir of the Grand Chapel was designed by
Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
in 1554. In the counter-façade is the hexagonal baptismal font, with reliefs by
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...
's workshop, including a "Baptism of Christ" by Donatello himself. The Chapel of the Madonna del Confort is a Neoclassicist work, built from 1796 and housing several terracottas by Andrea della Robbia. In the same side is the
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
of
Guido Tarlati 370px, Panel from Guido Tarlati's tomb representing the capture of the castle of Caprese. Guido Tarlati (died 1327) was a lord and Bishop of Arezzo. Tarlati was a member of the leading Ghibelline family of Arezzo, who were centered in their fie ...
, lord of Arezzo until 1327. According to some, it was designed by Giotto, and executed by Agnolo di Ventura and Agostino di Giovanni. Near to the cenotaph is
Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...
's ''
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
'' (1460s). In the south aisle is the funerary monument of Pope
Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X;  – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...
(died 1276), dating to the early 14th century. Another funerary monument in the aisles is that of Ciuto Tarlati (1334), formed by a marble sarcophagus of the 4th century AD and a series of reliefs by Agostino di Giovanni, crowned by a 14th-century fresco. A number of liturgical objects from the cathedral can be found in the nearby
diocesan museum A diocesan museum is a museum for an ecclesiastical diocese, a geographically-based division of the Christian Church. Austria: * Diocesan Museum, Graz, Styria * Gurk Treasury, Carinthia * Diocesan Museum, Linz, Upper Austria * Cathedral Mus ...
.


References


Sources

*


External links


Italian dioceses




{{Authority control Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Arezzo Sites of papal elections Burial places of popes Cathedrals in Tuscany