- Salerno Cathedral
Infobox UK cathedral
building_name =St Matthew's Cathedral
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caption =Photo of St Matthew's
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location =Salerno
full_name =Cathedral Church of Matthew the Apostle
geo =
latitude =
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country =Italy
diocese =Salerno
bishop =website =http:// www.cattedraledisalerno.it/
building =yesarchitecture_style =Romanesque
year_built =1080
year_consecrated =1085Salerno Cathedral (or
duomo ) is the main church of the city ofSalerno in southernItaly . It is considered the main tourist attraction of the city.It is dedicated to
Saint Matthew , one of the four Evangelists, whose tomb is inside the "Cripta".The Cathedral was built at the center of the "Longobard and Norman" Salerno, when the city was the capital of the
Principality of Salerno in southern Italy (that stretched from the gulf ofNaples to theIonian sea ).History
Begun by
Robert Guiscard in1076 during the episcopate of Alfano I on a pre-existing church (in turn erected over a Roman temple's ruins), the Duomo was consecrated byPope Gregory VII in1085 .It was several times modified in the following centuries. In 1688 the architect
Ferdinando Sanfelice remodeled in Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo Architecture the interior of the Duomo. Finally, a restoration in the 1930s brought it back to an appearance similar to the original one.Historically the Duomo is remembered as the initial symbol of the ItalianRenaissance , because inside there it is the tomb of Pope Gregory VII, the "Pope of Canossa" who started the rejection from Italy of the German domination of theHoly Roman Empire .The Duomo was damaged during the
Operation Avalanche , when theAllies landed in Salerno in September 1943, duringWorld War II .Architectural features
The most striking external feature is the bell tower (mid-12th century), with small arcades and mullioned windows, standing 56 m high and in Arabic-Norman style. The façade has a Romanesque portal with Byzantine-style bronze doors from
Constantinople (1099), with 56 panels with figures, crosses and stories from Jesus's life. The entrance has a portico with 28 antique columns whose pointed arches, withlava rockintarsia , show influence of Arab art, and contains a series of ancient Romansarcophagi .The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by pilasters in which the original columns are embedded, and three
apse s. Artworks include two pulpits with mosaic decorations, paintings byFrancesco Solimena , a 14th century Gothic statue of "Madonna with Child" and the sepulchres of queenMargherita of Durazzo , ofRoger Borsa and of archbishop Bartolomeo d'Arpano, and the tomb of Gregory VII.The crypt, believed to house the remains of St. Matthew, is a
groin vault ed hall with a basilica-like plan divided by columns. It was restored under design byDomenico Fontana in 1606-1608, with marble decorations added in the 18th century.The Duomo Museum houses artworks from different ages, including the silver statues of the Salernitane Martyrs (13th century) and documents of the renowned
Schola Medica Salernitana (the first University of Europe, according to some scholars like G. Crisci).ources
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*cite book|last=Musi|first= Aurelio|title=Salerno moderna|publisher= Editore Avagliano|location= Salerno|year=1999External links
* [http://www.comune.salerno.it/UserFiles/Image/duomo3.jpgPhoto of the Cripta of the Salerno Cathedral]
* [http://www.cattedraledisalerno.it/ Official website] it icon
* [http://www.insalerno.com/salerno/duomo.htm Link to an Italian page about the Cathedral]ee also
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Principality of Salerno
*Salerno
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