- Perugia Cathedral
The Cathedral of San Lorenzo is the main religious edifice of
Perugia ,Umbria , centralItaly .History
From the establishment of the bishopric, a cathedral existed in Perugia in different locations, until, in 936-1060, a new edifice, corresponding to the
transept of the present cathedral, was built here. The current cathedral, dedicated from the beginning as the "Cathedral of San Lorenzo and Sant'Ercolano" [Saint Herculanus, the bishop of Perusia during the last persecutions, ca 290-310, was displaced to the first century CE byFerdinando Ughelli , "Italia Sacra"; his actions are often conflated with those of his successopr, Herculanus II, bishop of Perugia decapitated byTotila (William Smith and Henry Wace, "A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines" (1880) sub "Herculanus"), who is thepatron saint of the city.] dates from a project of 1300 by Fra Bevignate that was initiated in 1345 and completed in 1490. The external decoration in white and pink marble lozenges (adapted from the Cathedral ofArezzo ) was never completed; a trial section can still be seen on the main façade.Overview
Exterior
Unlike most cathedrals, the cathedral of Perugia has its flank on the city's main square, [The "Piazza IV Novembre" commemorates the armistice, actually signed
3 November 1918 , between the Kingdom of Italy andAustria .] facing theFontana Maggiore and thePalazzo dei Priori . This side is characterized by the "Loggia di Braccio" commissioned byBraccio da Montone (1423), an early Renaissance structure attributed to Fioravante Fioravanti fromBologna . It formerly formed part of the Palazzo del Podestà, which burned in 1534. [TCI, "Umbria" 1966:79. A fifth bay was demolished in 1555; parts of the former Palazzo del Podestà, Braccio's seat of power, can be seen in the wall of the bishop's palace.] Under it a section of Roman wall and the basement of the oldcampanile can be seen. It houses also the "Pietra della Giustizia" ("Justice Stone") bearing a 1264 inscription by which the commune announced that all the public debt had been repaid. Also on this side is a statue ofPope Julius III byVincenzo Danti (1555); Julius was a hero to Perugia for having restored the local magistrature, which had been suppressed by Paul III. In the unfinished wall is a portal designed byGaleazzo Alessi (1568), a pulpit composed of ancient fragments andCosmatesque mosaics, from which SaintBernardino of Siena preached in 1425 and 1427 and a wooden Crucifix by Polidoro Ciburri (1540).The main façade faces the smaller Piazza Dante; in it is abaroque portal designed by Pietro Carattoli in 1729. The sturdy campanile was constructed in 1606-1612.Interior
The interior is of the "Chiesa a sala" type, 68 m in length, with a nave and two aisles of the same height; the nave is twice as wide as the aisles. On the counterfaçade is the sarcophagus of bishop Giovanni Andrea Baglioni (died 1451), attributed to Urbano da Cortona.
The first chapel is dedicated to the Holy Ring, the relic of the wedding ring of the Holy Virgin, which was stolen from
Chiusi in 1473. The chapel had once frescoes byPinturicchio and a painting byPerugino , now in the museum ofCaen . It also houses areliquary by Bino di Pietro and Federico and Cesarino del Roscetto, considered amongst the masterworks of Italian Renaissance goldsmiths' work. Continuing on the side wall are the remains of an altar byAgostino di Duccio (1473), demolished in 1623. Notable is theapse , with a wooden choir withintarsia byGiuliano da Maiano andDomenico del Tasso (1486-91), which was damaged by a fire in 1985. The right transept has an altarpiece byGiovanni Baglione (1609). Two small side doors lead to Oratory of St. Onofrio, built to house an altarpiece byLuca Signorelli , now in the Cathedral Museum.On the right nave is the Sacrament Chapel, designed by Alessi (1576), with an altarpiece of the "Pentecost" by
Cesare Nebbia (1563); a monument contains the remains ofPope Martin IV , who died at Perugia in 1285, and relics of Innocent III and Urban IV. The next bay leads to the Baptistery Chapel, with a Renaissance perspective view in marble by Pietro di Paolo di Andrea da Como (1477). In front of it, is the venerated image of the "Madonna delle Grazie ", by Giannicola di Paolo, a follower of Perugino. The right nave ends with the Chapel of St. Bernardino, enclosed by a 15th-century railing. Its altar houses the most important artwork of the church, a "Deposition from the Cross" byFederico Barocci (1567-1569).The sacristy was entirely frescoed by Gian Antonio Pandolfi starting from 1573. The cloister houses several architectonic and sculpture fragments, including a head attributed to
Giovanni Pisano and a Renaissance bust of the Redeemer.Cathedral Museum
The museum is home to a triptych by
Meo da Siena , a "Madonna "byAndrea Vanni and a triptych byAgnolo Gaddi , as well as the notable altarpiece by Signorelli. It has also numerous precious manuscripts, some from the 10th century.Next to it, the "Sala del Dottorato" has frescoes portraying
Pope John XXII between the emperors Charles IV and Sigismund.Notes
References
*cite book|first=Francesco Federico|last=Mancini|coauthors=Giovanna Casagrande|title=Perugia - guida storico-artistica|location=Perugia|publisher=Italcards|ID=ISBN 88-7193-746-5
*cite book|first=Giovanna|last=Chiuini|coauthors=Francesco Federico Mancini; Simonetta Stopponi|title=Perugia|location=Perugia|year=1993|publisher=Electa Editori Umbri|ID=ISBN 88-435-3706-7
*Touring Club Italiano, "Umbria" (1926) 1966.External links
* [http://www.museiecclesiastici.it/museisingoli.asp?museoId=20 Museum's website] it icon
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