Cremona Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
(Our Lady of the Assumption), is a church in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, northern 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...
and the episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cremona
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cremona
The diocese of Cremona is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in northern Italy, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Milan. Its see is the Cremona Cathedral.-History:Cremona is in Lombardy, Italy, on the left bank of the River Po...
. Its bell tower is the famous Torrazzo, symbol of the city and tallest pre-modern tower in Italy.
Also annexed is the Baptistery, another important medieval monument.
History
Originally built in RomanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style, the church was restored and extended with Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
and Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
elements. The church was begun in 1107, but the works were damaged and halted after an earthquake in 1117. Construction were resumed in 1129, and the edifice was probably finished in 1160-1170. The main altar, dedicated to the city's patron saints St. Archelaus and St. Irnerius
Himerius of Cremona
Himerius of Cremona , also known as Himerius of Amelia or Irnerius, was an Italian bishop. He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and Christian communities of Western Rite Orthodoxy....
, was consecrated in 1196.
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
were also added: the northern in 1288 and the southern in 1348.
Exterior
The main façade, together with the annexed Baptistery, is one of the most important monuments of Romanesque art in Europe. It has a portico with a narthexNarthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
in the middle, to which a Renaissance loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
with three niches was added in 1491. This is surmounted by a large rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
, flanked by two orders of loggette ("small loggias").
The portal
Portal (architecture)
Portal is a general term describing an opening in the walls of a building, gate or fortification, and especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates or portcullis in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surrounding the opening may be made of...
is probably from the early 12th century. On its side are the figures of the Four Prophets, each sporting a roll with the text of their prophecies. The narthex was made by masters from Campione
Campione d'Italia
Campione d'Italia is an Italian comune of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region, occupying an enclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, separated from the rest of Italy by Lake Lugano and mountains...
in the following century: it incorporates an older frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
portraying the Labours of the Months
Labours of the Months
The term Labours of the Months refers to cycles in Medieval and early Renaissance art depicting in twelve scenes the rural activities that commonly took place in the months of the year...
(late 12th century, inspired by that in the Baptistery of Parma
Baptistery of Parma
The Baptistery of Parma is a religious edifice in Parma, northern Italy. The baptistery of the Parma Cathedral, it is considered to be the very exact moment of transition between Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and is one of the most important Medieval monuments in Europe.- Description :The...
); the four statues on the upper loggia, portraying the Madonna with Child and two bishops, are from the Tuscan school (1310). The columns of the narthex stand on two lions in Verona marble. The left one is holding a dragon, symbol of Evil, in his paws, while the right one is holding a bear, which in turn is biting a bird's neck.
On the façade are also two tombs: the more recent one (mid-14th century) is by Bonino da Campione
Bonino da Campione
Bonino da Campione was an Italian sculptor in the Gothic style, active between 1350 and 1390.His name indicates that he was born in - or into a family originating in - Campione d'Italia, a Lombardy town in an enclave within Switzerland...
.
The façade of the northern transept's arm (late 13th century) has also a narthex. Its columns have also two lions at the base. It is characterized by a sequence of mullioned windows and rose windows. The façade of the southern arms dates from 1342, and is in brickwork
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
, as typical in the Lombard Gothic architecture. It has a structure similar to the northern one, but with slightly more detailed decoration.
Interior
The interior house important works of art.The oldest are the 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...
ed Stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph in the southern and northern transept vaults (late 14th-early 15th century). Also from the Renaissance are the arch of the Stories of the Martyrs Marius and Marta, Audifax and Habakkuk, martyrs in Persia (best known as Arch of the Persian Martyrs, 1482), and the relief of "St. Himerius
Himerius of Cremona
Himerius of Cremona , also known as Himerius of Amelia or Irnerius, was an Italian bishop. He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and Christian communities of Western Rite Orthodoxy....
" (1481-1484), both works by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
thumb|260px|The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.Giovanni Antonio Amadeo was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor, architect, and engineer....
. Also notable is the urn of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, sculpted mostly by Benedetto Briosco
Benedetto Briosco
thumb|300px|The portal of the Certosa di Pavia.Benedetto Briosco was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, active in Lombardy....
(1506-1513), in the crypt.
Relevant is the wooden Choir, with inlay work by Platina
Platina
Platina is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 2,866 and the area is 328.68 km². The elevation is 466 m....
(1482-1490), and the contemporary large altar Cross in silver and gold, by Ambrogio Pozzi and Agostino Sacchi (1478), in the right aisle of the northern transept arm.
The most important figurative complex of the cathedral is the fresco decoration on the side walls of the nave (early 16th century), portraying the Life of Mary and Christ. Different painters collaborated to its execution: the first was Boccaccio Boccaccino
Boccaccio Boccaccino
Boccaccio Boccaccino was a painter of the early Italian Renaissance, belonging to the Emilian school. He is profiled in Vasari's Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori .He was born in Ferrara and studied there, probably under Domenico Panetti...
(with Annunciation to Joachim and Jesus with the Doctors), who, in 1506, had already painted a Redemeer with Cremona's Patron Saints in the apse vault. He was succeeded by Giovan Francesco Bembo (Epiphany and Presentation at the Temple) and Altobello Melone
Altobello Melone
Altobello Melone was an Italian painter of the Renaissance.-Biography:He was born in Cremona. His style merges Lombard with Mannerist styles. In Cremona, he encountered the elder Girolamo Romanino. He was commissioned in December of 1516 to fresco the Cathedral of Cremona, work which continued...
(Flight to Egypt, Massacre of the Innocents and the first four panels of the Passion of Christ), who both adopted a less classicist style. Next came Girolamo Romanino, author of the scenes from Jesus before Pilatus to Ecce Homo, who here painted some of his masterworks.
The last scenes of the Passion were executed by Il Pordenone
Il Pordenone
Il Pordenone, byname of Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis , was an Italian painter of the Venetian school, active during the Renaissance. Vasari, his main biographer, identifies him as Giovanni Antonio Licinio.-Biography:...
, who was also responsible of the large Crucifixion (1521), the Deposition (1521, counterfaçade) and the Schizzi Altarpiece (before 1523, on the first altar in the right aisles), the latter inspired by Giorgione
Giorgione
Giorgione was a Venetian painter of the High Renaissance in Venice, whose career was cut off by his death at a little over thirty. Giorgione is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, though only about six surviving paintings are acknowledged for certain to be his work...
's style. The complex was completed by Bernardino Gatti
Bernardino Gatti
Bernardino Gatti was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Parma and Cremona.Born in or near Pavia or Cremona. He is also commonly called il Sojaro. His early apprenticeship is unclear, though he is influenced by the pre-eminent local painters: Pordenone, alongside whose works...
with the Resurrection (1529).
Other frescoes were added in the mid-16th century by Mannerist painters, including Gatti himself, Bernardino Campi
Bernardino Campi
Bernardino Campi was an Italian Renaissance painter from Reggio Emilia, who worked in Cremona. He is known as one of the teachers of Sofonisba Anguissola and of Giovanni Battista Trotti . In Cremona, his extended family were the main artistic studios...
and others. In the 17th century Il Genovesino added the Life of St. Roch in the northern transept.