Trani cathedral
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Trani Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Trani; Cattedrale di San Nicola Pellegrino) 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 ...
dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim in
Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, in southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the fir ...
,
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
, south-eastern Italy. Formerly the seat of the
archbishop of Trani The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie ( la, Archidioecesis Tranensis-Barolensis-Vigiliensis (-Nazarensis)) is a Latin rite archbishopric in the administrative province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the southeastern Italian regi ...
, it is now that of the
archbishop of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie ( la, Archidioecesis Tranensis-Barolensis-Vigiliensis (-Nazarensis)) is a Latin rite archbishopric in the administrative province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the southeastern Italian regi ...
. Consecrated in 1143, is one of the main examples of Apulian
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
. It was built using the local stone of Trani, typical of the region: a
calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
, obtained from the caves of the city, characterised by its colour, an extremely light pink, almost white. The cathedral is distinguished by its showy
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 ...
and by its use of the high pointed arch in the passage beneath the bell tower, which is unusual in Romanesque architecture.


History

Construction began in 1099, over the earlier church of Santa Maria della Scala, which went back to the 4th century. The
relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
of Saint Leucius were kept here until the 8th century, when they were translated to
Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...
. The new church was intended to house the relics of Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim (who died in Trani in 1094). The cathedral was dedicated as soon as they were installed, without waiting for the building to be completed. The decisive stage of construction probably took place between about 1159 and 1186 under the leadership of Bishop Bertrando II, and the building was complete by about 1200, except for the bell tower, which was only finished in the 14th century.


Description

One of the rose windows on the exterior side walls. The transept area.


Exterior

The church is located on a relatively isolated position, a few meters from the coast. The main pavement is at some 5 meters above the external ground level, as the nave and the two aisles are built above a
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 ...
corresponding to the original church. The façade is accessed through a double staircase, at both sides of the Romanesque-style portal, leading to a gallery; the portal, within a
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 ...
, has a decoration with some influence from
Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
. The central bronze door was executed by
Barisano da Trani Barisano da Trani was an Italian sculptor of the 12th century. He is best known for his bronze relief door panels on the doors of churches such as Trani Cathedral (1185) and Monreale Cathedral in Monreale (1179). Barisano da Trani also made relief ...
in 1175; the original piece is now inside the church, while the external one is a replica made in 2012. left, The main portal. The façade is completed by three windows and a small
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 ...
above the nave. They are decorated by animal figures. 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 ...
, facing the sea, has three
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 ...
s, and also features blind arcades in Romanesque style. The side façades are also decorated with blind arcades and, on the southern side, by two
mullioned windows 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 a rose window, while the northern side as two double and one quadruple mullioned windows. 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 ...
, standing at 59 m, was mostly built in 1230–1239, although the floors above the second one were completed only in the 14th century under bishop Giacomo Tura Scottini. As is typical in Romanesque structures, the openings (in the shape of mullioned windows) become wider in the upper floors. The ground floor of the bell tower has an internal, ogival arcade creating a passage under it. The bell tower was completely dismantled and rebuilt in the 1950s to avoid it falling down. View of the central nave. Interior of the Crypt of St. Nicholas.


Interior

The church plan has a nave and two aisles, separated by double columns that support two side matronaei. The aisles have
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 ...
ed ceilings, while the nave has nude
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
es. The transept has also similar trusses. The interior has lost much of its decoration, leading to the current largely bare appearance. In particular, the restoration in 1939-1942 mostly left only the medieval elements, removing later additions such as the painted wooden ceiling of the nave and the transept. Only part of the original
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s of the pavement, inspired by those of the
Otranto Cathedral Otranto Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Otranto; Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Italian city of Otranto, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. It is the archiepiscopal seat of the Archdioce ...
, remain in the presbytery area. These include scenes such as the allegory of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
flying to heaven (see below) and the
original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...
episode with
Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
. The lower church, located under the main pavement, is divided into two main spaces: the Crypt of St. Nicholas, housing the saint's relics, and that of St. Mary. The lower church has a similar plan that the upper one and has Romanesque-style
capital 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 ...
s. A small stairs leads to the
hypogeum A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek language, Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb. Hypogea will often contain niche (archite ...
of St. Leucius, located below the sea level and decorated with frescoes in poor state of preservation.


Flying Alexander

A medieval legend in the '' Alexander romance'' had Alexander, wishing to see the whole world, first descending into the depths of the ocean in a sort of
diving bell A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...
, then wanting to see the view from above. To do this he harnessed two large birds, or
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 ...
s in other versions, with a seat for him between them. To entice them to keep flying higher he placed meat on two skewers which he held above their heads. This was quite commonly depicted in several medieval cultures, from Europe to Persia, where it may reflect earlier legends or iconographies. Sometimes the beasts are not shown, just the king holding two sticks with flower-like blobs at their ends. The scene is shown in the floor mosaics of both Trani and
Otranto Cathedral Otranto Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Otranto; Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Italian city of Otranto, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. It is the archiepiscopal seat of the Archdioce ...
s. Boardman, John, "Alfred and Alexander", pp. 137-139, in: Gosden, Christopher, Crawford, Sally, Ulmschneider, Katharina, ''Celtic Art in Europe: Making Connections'', 2014, Oxbow Books, , 9781782976585
google books
/ref>


References


Sources

* Rachele Carrino, 1996: ''Il mosaico pavimentale medioevale della cattedrale di Trani'', in: "XLII Corso di Cultura sull'arte ravennate e bizantina, Ravenna: 1995 (CARB 42)" (pp. 175–214). Ravenna *Rolf Legler, 1989 (3rd edition): ''Apulien'' (pp. 172 et seq). Cologne


External links



{{Authority control Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Apulia Churches in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Romanesque architecture in Apulia Trani