Altamura Cathedral

Coordinates: 40°49′39″N 16°33′11″E / 40.82741°N 16.55311°E / 40.82741; 16.55311
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Altamura Cathedral.
The interior.

Altamura Cathedral (

Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Altamura, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia
, in southern Italy.

Since 1986 it has been the seat of the

territorial prelature
of Altamura (from 1848, Altamura e Acquviva delle Fonti).

History

The church was built by will of

bishop of Bari, making it a "palatine" church, one of four in Apulia.[1]

Historian Domenico Santoro (1688) hypothesized that the church may occupy the location of a Greek or Roman temple dedicated to

apotropaic purpose and it evoked the fears of an invasion of Saracens, which, especially in the 16th century, was a widespread fear among Mediterranean Europe Christians.[5]

Inscription in Latin, reporting the church collapse on January 29, 1316.

An inscription in Latin, located upon the so-called "Angevin door" (Italian: Porta Angioina), says that the church collapsed on January 29, 1316 and that it was rebuilt with the help of skilled constructors from the nearby Bitonto. The first man who correctly translated this inscription was local historian Ottavio Serena, as he stated in his unfinished work Storia di Altamura. Previous historians incorrectly translated the inscription (which was hard to read and written in bad Latin), assigning the inscription referred to a privilege that Altamura benefited, according to which every year Bitonto's mayor used to come to Altamura to take the price list of the foods and to spread it to the whole province.[6]

The current orientation of the church is opposite to the original one, although it is not known if the change dates to

Robert of Anjou's reign (early 14th century) or to the enlargement carried out in 1521–1547. The northern portal dates from Robert's time, while the second bell tower, the altar area and the sacristy were added in the 16th century. From the 18th century are the upper parts of the two bell towers and the small loggia between them. A chamber containing a clock (Altamuran dialect: casa dell'arlogio, Italian: casa dell'orologio) with weights and counterweights, was demolished in the first half of the 16th century and then it was built again, and its latter shape it appears an 18th-century painting of Saint Irene in the Council Hall of the city of Altamura.[7] In the same painting, a thunder is shown hitting the tower of the cathedral; this refers to a real accident, which occurred in 1726. According to the sources, the thunder hit the cathedral twice, and it considerably damaged it. Over the following three years, restoration works were carried out and the towers were also extended. Domes were also added to each of the two towers (as shown in the previous paintings, the domes had not been built yet).[8][9]

On the place where today is the clock tower, just above the

seats, the cathedral also had a secondary rose window and other surrounding windows, which are now walled.[10]

In 1729, the statues of the

Paul were made and then added. In the following years, the clock chamber was turned into a Baroque loggia which is now visible between the two towers.[11]

In 1858 (just three days before the Unification of Italy), the clock tower was added (designed by architect Corradino de Judicibus).[12]

The clock tower, added in 1858.

Altamura Cathedral has been restored in 2006[13] The works have restored the external walls of the cathedral to their original white color.[14] Another restoration work has been carried out in 2017 for the floor, the lighting system, the three entrance portals and other wooden structures.[15]

Architecture

The cathedral in the final years of the 16th century[16]

Exterior

View of Altamura (from the gate porta Bari) - Painting of Saint Irene (first half of the 18th century) - Council Hall of the city of Altamura[17]

The façade has two tall bell towers with two orders in the right one, and three (including the first in

mullioned window
with Eastern art-like decorations from the original Frederick II's building.

The façade is completed by a 14th-century portal, included within a

Annunciation to the Pentecost
.

Interior

The church has a nave and two aisles separated by columns and pillars, with matronaea at the sides. The capitals, in Byzantine style, are the last decoration detail visible today of the original Frederick II's building, together with the matronaea and the apse at the left of the portal.

The nave, with a wooden ceiling decorated with gilded stuccoes, ends in a large 18th century

presbytery houses a lavishly decorated wooden choir from 1543, a stone ambon
with sculpted scenes from Jesus' life, and a wooden pulpit also dating from the 16th century.

The aisles feature six side chapels each. The first left chapel is home to a polychrome wooden nativity scene from 1587. The fourth left chapel, dedicated to St. Joseph, is in Baroque and includes a polychrome marble altar with the statue of the saint holding Jesus' hand with a baldachin.

The church also houses a canvas by Domenico Morelli depicting St. Paul's Conversion (1876).

Gallery

References

  1. Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano
    .
  2. ^ T. Berloco (1985), p. 22, note 13
  3. ^ T. Berloco (1985), p. 39, note 44
  4. ^ T. Berloco (1985), p. 116, note 5
  5. ^ pupillo-immagini, pag. 28
  6. ^ T. Berloco (1985), p. 182
  7. ^ pupillo-immagini, pagg. 50-52)
  8. ^ pupillo-immagini, pagg. 51-52)
  9. ^ "LE CHIESE | Pro Loco Altamura".
  10. ^ pupillo-immagini, pag. 27
  11. ^ pupillo-immagini, pagg. 51-52)
  12. ^ "PERSONAGGI | Pro Loco Altamura". Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  13. ^ "La Cattedrale restituita al suo antico splendore". 19 April 2017.
  14. ^ "CATTEDRALE DI SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA, Altamura (BA)". Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  15. ^ "La Cattedrale restituita al suo antico splendore". 19 April 2017.
  16. Angelica Library - Archivio Generalizio Agostiniano, Carte Rocca P/33 (ultimi anni del XVI secolo) (pupillo-immagini, pag. 19
    )
  17. ^ The painting was damaged by a flood and then it was hung in the first chapel on the right side of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, inside the ex-convent of Capuchin friars. Later on, it was restores thanks to an activity organized by Altamura middle school "Tommaso Fiore". The activity's title was 'Let's adopt a monument' (Italian: Adottiamo un monumento, and its goal was to finance the restoration of a work of art. The painting was then chosen to be exhibited inside the Council Hall of the city of Altamura (cfr. pupillo-immagini, pag. 50)
  18. ^ Cagnazzi himself talks about the plaque in his autobiography La mia vita (pp. 270-271), adding that the profile was made by sculptor Don Gaetano Lanocca. The plaque and the profile date back to 1842.
  19. ^ Lamiavita, pp. 270-271.

Sources

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40°49′39″N 16°33′11″E / 40.82741°N 16.55311°E / 40.82741; 16.55311

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