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Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Giovinazzo)

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Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
LocationGiovinazzo, Apulia
CountryItaly
DenominationCatholic
History
Consecrated23 May 1283
Architecture
Years built1125–1180
Administration
DioceseMolfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi

The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the cathedral of Giovinazzo and a co-cathedral of the diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi.

It is an Italian national monument.

Interior of the cathedral.

History

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The current cathedral, which stands on the site of an older building, called by the sources Santa Maria de Episcopio, was built during the 12th century in the Norman age, dating back to between 1125 (beginning of the construction of the crypt) and 1180 (completion of the upper church). The building was consecrated only a century later, on 23 May 1283. The Romanesque cathedral had three naves divided by columns, with a trussed ceiling, false galleries and a mosaic floor. Few traces remain of this church today, due to the renovation works on the building during the eighteenth century (between 1730 and 1752 under bishop Paolo de Mercuzo), which led to the total renovation of the interiors according to the baroque taste: they belong to the ancient Romanesque church the rear façade, closed between two bell towers (of which the smallest, however, is from the seventeenth century), part of the presbytery area and the crypt.

Description

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Inside, the church has three naves divided by pillars, with a large transept, three side chapels on each side, and a large main altar. The apse is completely covered with canvases by the Giovinazzo painter Carlo Rosa from 1676, which depict Maria Assunta and other saints. In the right arm of the transept and in the presbytery area, during the restoration work of the 1990s, traces of mosaics from the ancient Romanesque flooring of the cathedral were brought to light, dating back to the end of the 12th century.

The altars of the side chapels are dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Blessed Nicola Pagla, the Crucifix, Santa Maria di Loreto and San Francesco Saverio. The most important is the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, built in 1768 by Gennaro Sammartino and Crescenzo Tronchese. Of particular historical-artistic value are two panels: one from the thirteenth century, of Byzantine workmanship, depicting the Madonna of Corsignano; and the other fifteenth-century one depicting the Redeemer.

Tombstones

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From the left nave you go down into the crypt, the oldest part of the cathedral. It is made up of 10 bare columns and 12 pillars protruding from the perimeter walls. Tombstones are present in the walls and floor; among these that of the young Antonio Sindolfi of 1386.

There is also a tomb of a knight, one Enrico Zurolo, belonging to the noble Zurolo family of the same name. On the Terragna tombstone we read: D.O.M. | HENRICO ZVRVLO FORMER CAPYTIORVM PARTENOPEA | FAMILIA QUEM PRAETER | NOBILISSISSI GENERIS VETVSTATEM FIDES | COSTANTIA VITA INTEGRITAS DECORARVNT | NI. ANT. I.V.D. ET ABBAS HIERON | FILII PIESS PATRI OPT. PP. MDXLII VIX AN. LXIII | VSQUE AD DIEM NOVISSIMVM.[1]

Bibliography

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Historical sources

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  • Raffaella Cassano; Sergio Leonardi (2001). Cosimo Damiano Fonseca (ed.). Cattedrali di Puglia, una storia lunga duemila anni [Cathedrals of Puglia, a two thousand year history] (in Italian). Illustrators: Nicola Amato, Sergio Leonardi. Bari (BA): M. Adda. ISBN 9788880824336. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  • E. De Cillis (1989). La cattedrale di Giovinazzo. Restauri e rinvenimenti, in Cultura e società in Puglia in età sveva e angioina [The cathedral of Giovinazzo. Restorations and discoveries, in Culture and society in Puglia in the Swabian and Angevin ages] (in Italian). Bitonto (BA): F. Moretti. pp. 327–364. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  • Gennaro Zurolo (2017). "THE ZUROLOS, Simplified ascending family line". La Città nobile di Giovinazzo e Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Ammiraglio e Balì dei Cavalieri di Malta nel XVII secolo (alla luce di documenti inediti) [The noble city of Giovinazzo and Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Admiral and Bailiff of the Knights of Malta in the 17th century (in the light of unpublished documents)] (in Italian). Rome (RM). pp. 30 and 144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Gennaro Zurolo (2024). "IV". Casa Zurolo. Origini e sviluppo di una famiglia feudale dell'Italia meridionale [Zurolo House. Origins and development of a feudal family from Southern Italy] (in Italian). p. 114.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta (Giovinazzo).

Notes

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  1. ^ Gennaro Zurolo (2017). "Linea genealogica aascendentale semplificata" [Simplified ascending family line]. La Città nobile di Giovinazzo e Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Ammiraglio e Balì dei Cavalieri di Malta nel XVII secolo (alla luce di documenti inediti) [The noble city of Giovinazzo and Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Admiral and Bailiff of the Knights of Malta in the 17th century (in the light of unpublished documents)] (in Italian). Rome (RM). p. 144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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Official

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Other

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