Vicenza Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata, ''Duomo di Vicenza'') 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 let ...

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 denominations ...

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, northern

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 ...

. It is the seat of the Bishop of Vicenza, and is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

History

Construction of the cathedral was begun in 1482, to plans by Lorenzo of Bologna, and completed in the 1560s. The

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...

was planned by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...

and probably the north doorway also. Only the original façade survived the bombing of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

; the rest of the present building has been reconstructed. The maestri di cappella include Fra Ruffino d'Assisi (1525–31),

Nicola Vicentino Nicola Vicentino (1511 – 1575 or 1576) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most progressive musicians of the age, inventing, among other things, a microtonal keyboard. Life Little is known of h ...

(1563–65), Giammateo Asola and his pupil Leone Leoni (1588-1627).

Exterior

Facade - Gable

The original facade is Gothic and attributed to Domenico da Venezia 16th century. It is divided into four sections: the lower one has five arches in transoms, the second with arches in the center of an

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American s ...

, the third is smooth, the fourth is decorated with five statues (and two

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s added in 1948).

Dome

The construction of the apse in the Cathedral of Vicenza had begun in 1482 to the design of Lorenzo da Bologna, but in 1531 it was still unfinished. Early, temporary, roofing was erected in 1540, as a result of the possibility that Vicenza might host the Church Council which in the end was held at Trent. Only in 1557 did the Comune of Vicenza receive the financial means necessary from the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, in the shape of a bequest left by Bishop Zeno at the beginning of the century, and were therefore able to set in motion the work's completion. Andrea Palladio, the author of the new project, most probably drew up an overall design which was however executed in two phases: from 1558 to 1559 the main cornice was built over the windows and the drum raised, while from 1564 to January 1566 the dome itself was constructed. The characteristic form of the lantern, abstract and devoid of decoration, was replicated on the summit of the cupolas of

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It h ...

in Venice (planned in the same years), and is also present in some of Palladio's reconstructions of centrally planned antique temples, such as the Mausoleum of Romulus on the Via Appia. Since 1994, the dome, together with other Palladian buildings in and around Vicenza, has been part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site

City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site in Italy, which protects buildings by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called " ...

The bell tower

It is slightly detached from the church and placed in the street that runs along the south side of the cathedral. It rests on a 10th-century stone base, the bell tower dates from the twelfth century and has five bells, in the chord of Eb, the oldest still in place was cast in the seventeenth century. Cathedral (Vicenza) - Campanile.jpg, The bell tower

Interior

Remarkable elements

; Left nave * The first chapel on the left, Thiene chapel with funerary monument to Lavinia Thiene, by Giulio Romano (1544) and on the right wall, a cenotaph with the arms of the Thiene family and

Saint Cajetan Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known as Saint Cajetan (), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines. He is recognised as a saint in the Catholic Church, and his feast day i ...

. * Second chapel on the left, an oil on canvas by

Alessandro Maganza Adorazione della Vergine con gli Angeli (1581) Alessandro Maganza (1556–1630) was an Italian painter of the Mannerist style, born and active in Vicenza, as well as in Venice. He likely trained with his father, Giovanni Battista Maganza, als ...

: ''Adorazione della Vergine con gli Angeli'' 1581 Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior.jpg, View of interior Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella Thiene.jpg, Thiene Chapel Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Monument to Lavinia Thiene by Giulio Romano.jpg, Monument to Lavinia Thiene by

Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-cent ...

Cenotaph of the Thiene family.jpg, Cenotaph of the Thiene family and

Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella di Santa Maria.jpg, Second chapel on the left Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Adorazione della Vergine con gli Angeli di Alessandro Maganza.jpg, ''Adorazione della Vergine con gli Angeli'' by

* Third chapel on the left dedicated to the Loschi family. Above the altarpiece are the arms of the family. Tombstones of Alfonso Loschi and Antonio Loschi. * The fourth chapel on the left shows an oil on canvas ''Madonna col bambino tra le Sante Maddalena e Lucia'', by

Bartolomeo Montagna Bartolomeo (or Bartolommeo) Montagna (, , ; 1450?– 11 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter who mainly worked in Vicenza. He also produced works in Venice, Verona, and Padua. He is most famous for his many Madonnas and his works ar ...

* Fifth chapel on the left : Chapel of the Incoronata or Gonfalone built in 1426 by the ancient fraglia of S. Maria, transformed around 1591 in the Confraternity of the Gonfalone. : The altarpiece shows the Incoronazione della Vergine (1448), by Antonino di Niccolò da Venezia. Bas-relief in polychrome stone, representing Christ before the Lord who crowns Mary, kneeling on the right. : On the left wall the funerary monument of Girolamo Bencucci, known in France as Jérôme Sclede, bishop of the ancient diocese of Vaison. Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella della famiglia Loschi.jpg, Third chapel on the left dedicated to the Loschi family Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Monument to Alfonso Loschi.jpg, Monument to Alfonso Loschi Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Monument to Antonio Loschi.jpg, Monumento to Antonio Loschi Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Quaresima Cappella a sinistra.jpg, The fourth chapel on the left Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Quaresima Cappella a sinistra- Madonna col bambino tra le Sante Maddalena e Lucia, da Bartolomeo Montagna.jpg, ''Madonna col bambino tra le Sante Maddalena e Lucia'', by

Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Quinta cappella a sinistra.jpg, Chapel of the Incoronata Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Quinta cappella a sinistra - Incoronazione della Vergine (1448) Antonino di Niccolò da Venezia.jpg, Incoronazione della Vergine (1448) by Antonino di Niccolò da Venezia Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Monument to Girolamo Bencucci.jpg, Funerary monument of Girolamo Bencucci ; Right nave *Chapel of the baptismal font - The present work dates from 1824. Work of the brothers Sguarise stone cutters on a drawing of the Antonian Bernati Bassanese. On the lid there is a small statue of Saint John the Baptist of Girolamo Albanese (XVII century). * Chapel of St. James and St. Anthony the Great - Dormitio Virginis, polyptyque de Lorenzo Veneziano (1366). On the left wall the sarcophagus of Tommaso and Giampietro de Proti. * Chapel of St. Jerome - The oldest one, founded in 1383 by Bishop Giovanni de Surdis, was then repeatedly remodeled, preserves today the two funerary monuments to Girolamo and Giovanni Battista Gualdo (16th c.) with the busts of the sarcophagus by

Alessandro Vittoria Alessandro Vittoria funerary monument - San Zaccaria, Venice Alessandro Vittoria (1525–1608) was an Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling Giambo ...

. Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella del fonte battesimale..jpg, Chapel of the baptismal font Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella dei SS. Giacomo e Antonio Abate.jpg, Chapel of St. James and St. Anthony the Great Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella dei SS. Giacomo e Antonio Abate - Arca di Tommaso e Giampietro de Proti.jpg, Sarcophagus of Tommaso and Giampietro de Proti. Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Cappella di S. Girolamo.jpg, Chapel of St. Jerome

Organ

In the last chapel on the right, there is the Mascioni opus 721 rod, built in 1955 and subsequently expanded. The instrument is electrically powered and its console, independent mobile, has three keyboards of 61 notes each and a concave-radial pedal of 32 notes.

Notes and references

External links

* * {{coord, 45, 32, 46, N, 11, 32, 37, E, region:IT_type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in the 1560s Renaissance architecture in Vicenza Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy

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 denominations ...

Church buildings with domes Cathedrals in Veneto