Adria Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 in the city of Adria

Adria

Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po....

, in the province of Rovigo

Province of Rovigo

The Province of Rovigo is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rovigo.It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona, Padua and Venice, on the south with the province of Ferrara, on the west with the province of Mantua, and on the eastwith the Adriatic Sea.-...

 and the region of Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is the seat of the Bishop of Adria-Rovigo.

The present cathedral replaces the much older former cathedral, the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta della Tomba, or Old Cathedral (Cattedrale Vecchia), which continues in use as a church.

The new cathedral, dedicated to Saints Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

 and Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

, was built in the early 19th century over a 14th century church. When works were undertaken in 1830 to investigate the stability of the foundations, a Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 crypt

Crypt

In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....

 and fresco

Fresco

Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...

es were discovered.

The cathedral also contains a Byzantine bas relief of the 6th century, a Byzantine altar and crucifix, and in the sacristy

Sacristy

A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...

 some magnificently carved cupboards by Jacopo Piazzetta of the Charity School of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

.

Behind the building a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes was constructed in the 1930s, which still attracts many visitors.

Sources and external links

• Adra Cathedral official website
• Diocese of Adria-Rovigo: official website
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Adria
• Catholic Hierarchy: Dioccese of Adria-Rovigo