Duomo di Viterbo
Encyclopedia
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
, and the principal church of the city of Viterbo
Viterbo
See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...
, Lazio, central 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 Viterbo and is dedicated to Saint Lawrence
Saint Lawrence
Lawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.- Holy Chalice :...
.
The church is an imposing Romanesque
Romanesque 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,...
structure situated high on the hill which the city climbs, but it lacks much of the spectacular decoration with which it was originally adorned, thanks to an ill-advised sixteenth century reconstruction.
Site
The cathedral was, according to legend, built on the site of an EtruscanEtruscan mythology
The Etruscans were a diachronically continuous population, with a distinct language and culture during the period of earliest European writing, in the Mediterranean Iron Age in the second half of the first millennium BC...
temple of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
and although this can not be verified, Etruscan and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
foundations can be seen on several of the buildings which make up the Piazza di San Lorenzo where the cathedral is situated. An early medieval parish church to Saint Lawrence
Saint Lawrence
Lawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.- Holy Chalice :...
had formerly occupied the area before construction began on the cathedral in the late twelfth century. Even as it was constructed, the town was already spreading northwards down the hill, leaving the plaza somewhat isolated on the highest edges of town, thus restricting its attraction to the townsfolk, a disadvantage which the local bishops for years attempted to reverse by granting the cathedral special religious privileges.
Use as a Papal residence
The cathedral was at the height of its significance during the middle and end of the thirteenth century, when it and the attached Palazzo dei Papi di ViterboPalazzo dei Papi di Viterbo
330px|right|thumb|The Papal Palace of Viterbo - In the background the bell-tower of the CathedralPalazzo dei Papi is a palace in Viterbo, northern Latium, Italy. It is one of the most important monuments in the city, situated alongside the Duomo di Viterbo...
was the home of the papal throne following its flight from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and prior to its resettlement in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
. Two popes were buried in the duomo: the first was Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
, whose tomb was bizarrely demolished during sixteenth century renovations, and the location of his remains are now unknown; Pope John XXI
Pope John XXI
Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião (Latin, Petrus Iulianus (c. 1215 – May 20, 1277), a Portuguese also called Pedro Hispano (Latin, Petrus Hispanus; English, Peter of Spain), was Pope from 1276 until his death about eight...
is more clearly marked despite several relocations, with a handsome tombstone originally laid over him following his death in 1277 (when his study's ceiling in the papal palace attached to the cathedral suddenly collapsed into the room below due to structural weaknesses as he slept).
Construction
The cathedral as built in the twelfth century is east-facing and sits high on the hill with the attached Papal palace overlooking the town spread below. Its façade oddly contrasts with surrounding buildings as it is not built from local stone, but was instead constructed with imported materials during Gambarra’s reconstruction. It is sparsely decorated, but at its centre is a rose windowRose 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...
, although without any form of stained-glass decoration. There are two similar but smaller windows positioned further down over two smaller entrances aside the main entrance, again undecorated. Therefore, in total there are 33 windows. The only indication of the original decoration of the cathedral can be seen on the neighbouring campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
, which is clad in alternating bands of local white travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
and blue-green basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
stone in a manner similar to the entire Orvieto Cathedral.
Reconstruction
During the middle of the sixteenth century, the cathedral came under the power of a Cardinal Gambarra, scion of a wealthy Italian family who paid for extensive reconstruction of the medieval building, including the demolition of the façade, roof and central apse (including a Papal tomb). He also knocked holes in the walls to create extra chapels and replaced much of the internal art, wood and stone decorations as well as the stained glass windows. Prominent amongst his new decorations were depictions of seafood, especially lobsters and prawns, giving the land-bound cathedral a strangely nautical look. (His name Gambarra translates as prawn from the Italian, and seafood featured heavily on his coat of arms). In 1861, a further bishop also replaced the ceiling, lowering it to disguise the intricate truss and beam work of Gambarra’s creation. Much of this heavy-handed work has since been removed or replaced with what remains of original furnishings, especially following the Second World War, during which the cathedral and the city in general were quite heavily damaged by Allied bombing raids and the shelling from both sides.Art
The cathedral lacks many of the famous artworks which make its Italian contemporaries so famous, largely due to its relatively recent renovation. The main works which line the apse are post-renovation pieces by the local artist Giovanni Francesco RomanelliGiovanni Francesco Romanelli
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli was an Italian painter of the Baroque.Romanelli was an Italian painter of the seventeenth century and trained in Rome in the studio of Pietro da Cortona, the leading painter of the time....
during the eighteenth century as well as several more by his contemporaries. Only two notable early artworks survive, a painting of Redentore benedicte (Christ giving a blessing) from 1472 thought to be the work of Gerolamo da Cremona and a Madonna with child, which appears to be an earlier version of the famous painting in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major , known also by other names, is the largest Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy.There are other churches in Rome dedicated to Mary, such as Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the...
in Rome. It has been moved here from the Viterbese parish church it was painted in during the late twelfth century, although the artist remains unknown. The cathedral also possesses an impressive baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
constructed initially by Francesco da Ancona in 1470 before later additions.
Piazza di San Lorenzo
The piazza itself, although dominated by the cathedral and its campanile also possesses several other important buildings, including the town's oldest hospitalHospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in a medieval building which once housed the cathedral administration offices as well as providing a fortified townhouse for one of Italy’s numerous feuding medieval families. The Etruscan foundations of this building are clearly visible from street level. To the south of the square, the House of Valentino della Pagnotta received a direct hit from an Allied bomb in World War Two but was reconstructed to original specifications. The ground floor now houses the cathedral’s gift shop.
The piazza boasts several small fountains and a number of other medieval buildings, but it is dominated on its north-facing side by the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo
Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo
330px|right|thumb|The Papal Palace of Viterbo - In the background the bell-tower of the CathedralPalazzo dei Papi is a palace in Viterbo, northern Latium, Italy. It is one of the most important monuments in the city, situated alongside the Duomo di Viterbo...
, which was enlarged and reconstructed in 1266 following the Papal move to the city. The Palazzo was the original location of the initiation of the conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
tradition, taken from the Latin cum claves or with keys. The cardinals were taking so long picking a new pope following the death of Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
in 1268 that their presence was bankrupting local businesses. This drove the infuriated local people to lock the cardinals inside the palace and to steal the roof, exposing those inside to the elements. They only returned the slates and unlocked the door once a decision had been reached.
The rest of the piazza is taken up by the ruins of the palace’s 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...
, half of which tumbled into the valley below around 1300 and was never repaired.