Benevento Cathedral is a religious building in Benevento

Benevento

Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...

, southern 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...

. The church dates to the Lombard

Lombards

The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 foundation of the Duchy of Benevento

Duchy of Benevento

The Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically...

, in the late 8th century, but after its destruction during Allied bombings in the course of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, it was largely rebuilt in the 1960s.

History

The Cathedral is in the site of the first Christian church in Benevento, where once was the Roman capitol. In general the foundation is dated to the early 7th century, although later, under duke Arechis II

Arechis II of Benevento

Arechis II was Duke of Benevento, in southern Italy, from 758 until his death....

, it was enlarged in the 8th century into the edifice which is the current one's crypt

Crypt

In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....

. Around 830 the Lombard prince Sico I of Benevento enlarged the primitive church with a nave and two aisles and placed classical-style columns, which characterized the cathedral until its destruction in 1943.

In the 10th century, when Benevento became an archbishopric seat, bishop Roffredo enlarged the church, although it missed a façade and a bell tower till the 13th century. In November 1456 the nearly completed cathedral was damaged by an earthquake. It was repaired with the help of Pope Pius II and consecrated on 4 November 1473. Perhaps during this restoration it received two further aisles. Other modifications were added before a new reconsecration in 1687. Other earthquakes damaged the church in 1688 and 1702, after which it was brought to the appearance it kept until the Allied destroyed it in World War II.

The church was rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s, under the design of Paolo Rossi De Paoli.

Description

The modern church has maintained the 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,...

 façade and bell tower. Also preserved is the crypt of the primitive church, with remains of 14th century frescoes. All the rest belongs to the modern edifice completed in the 1960s.

The façade, dating to the late 13th century, is entirely in white marble, inspired by contemporary Pisan structures. It has two orders with six arcades, which are less deep in the lower one. The main portal is enclosed in an architrave

Architrave

An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...

 and two richly decorated imposts

Impost (architecture)

In architecture, an impost is a projecting block resting on top of a column or embedded in a wall, serving as the base for the springer or lowest wedge of an arch....

. The side portals' imposts are re-used Roman architraves. The upper arcades form a loggia, and are separated by decorated columns. The arcade above the portal has a rose windows with twelve ray columns and a mosaic of the Mystic Lamb. The other arcades have oculi and a single mullioned window. The rightmost one, finally, has a depiction of "Knight" from the 13th century, placed there after the destruction of the original tomb it decorated.

The squared and sturdy bell tower was erected by archbishop Roman Capodiferro since 11 February 1279. The front has a frieze with 17 Roman memorial stones, while the western side features has remains of a Roman labarum

Labarum

The labarum was a vexillum that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" — Chi and Rho . It was used by the Roman emperor Constantine I...

 in gilt metal. At the base of the east side is a relief representing a wild boar with a crown of laurel: this perhaps hints to the foundation of the city, or was the totemic animal of the Samnites living in the area before the Roman conquest. The bell cell has four double mullioned windows.

The interior, in modern style, houses however several historical features: these include a large statue of St. Bartholomew (early 14th century), some 18th century artworks which escaped the destruction of 1943, and the 7th-8th century crypt.