Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter Apostle
Encyclopedia
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
and main church of Frascati
Frascati
Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...
, 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 was founded in 1598, under design of Ottaviano Nonni
Ottaviano Nonni
Ottaviano Nonni , called Il Mascherino, was an Italian architect, sculptor, and painter born in Bologna. Apprentice of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, he was active in Emilia and in Rome, where he had been living in the rione of Borgo, in the road still bearing his name .He was the architect of the...
, best known as Mascherino. After twelve years, on June 29, 1610 the first Mass was celebrated. In 1696 Girolamo Fontana began work on a new façade, which was finished in 1700.
The two bell towers on either side of the facade were constructed later.
It has a Greek cross plan, and houses a wooden crufix of 11th century from Tusculum
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:Tusculum is one of the largest Roman cities in Alban Hills. The ruins of Tusculum are located on Tuscolo hill—more specifically on the northern edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...
, a Madonna - "Mysteries of the Rosary" attributed to Domenichino, a relief by Pompeo Ferrucci (1612) represents Jesus handing over the keys to St. Peter, and a 14th century Madonna with the baby in the Chapel of the Gonfalone, that was retouched by Domenichino.
On the interior side of the facade wall there is a bronze "Holy Year Cross" of 1750.
The interior of the cathedral was destroyed by a bombing on September 8, 1943, and so today it appears bare, except for a little chapel off to the right.
In the nave, on the inner side of the façade, there is a funerary white marble monument of Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
with a memorial tablet. When he died in 1788, his brother, the duke of York and bishop of Frascati, Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne...
, celebrated his solemn funeral here. The cathedral received many tokens of Henry's episcopal concern, most of which are still visible today.
When the body of Charles Stuart was transferred to the Saint Peter's Basilica, his "praecordia", were left here in a small urn enclosing his heart, placed beneath the floor below the funerary monument.