Castelsardo Cathedral
Encyclopedia
The Co-Cathedral of Castelsardo is a church in Castelsardo
, northern Sardinia
, Italy
. It is entitled to St. Anthony the Abbot.
The church became the seat of the diocese of Ampurias in 1503, and the current edifice date to the reconstruction carried on between 1597 and the 18th century.
and Renaissance elements, and overlooks the sea directly. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a single nave with barrel vaults, side chapels and transept
. The crossing has instead a cross vault, with four pilasters with sculpted capitals.
The church has a tall bell tower, topped by a small dome decorated with majolica.
The presbytery
is raised, and has a marble balaustrade. The apse, with a cross vault decorated with stars, houses the 1810 marble high altar, characterized by the church's main attraction, the Enthroned Madonna with Child painting from the 15th century, attributed to the Master of Castelsardo
. Also from the latter artist is a St. Michael Archangel in the church's subterraneans, now home to the diocesan museum.
Castelsardo
Castelsardo is a town and comune in Sardinia, Italy, located in the northwest of the island within the Province of Sassari.-History:Archaeological excavations have showed the human presence in the area of Castelsardo since pre-Nuragic and Nuragic times, as well as during the Roman domination in...
, northern Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, 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...
. It is entitled to St. Anthony the Abbot.
The church became the seat of the diocese of Ampurias in 1503, and the current edifice date to the reconstruction carried on between 1597 and the 18th century.
Description
The cathedral is a mix of Catalan GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and Renaissance elements, and overlooks the sea directly. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a single nave with barrel vaults, side chapels and transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
. The crossing has instead a cross vault, with four pilasters with sculpted capitals.
The church has a tall bell tower, topped by a small dome decorated with majolica.
The presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
is raised, and has a marble balaustrade. The apse, with a cross vault decorated with stars, houses the 1810 marble high altar, characterized by the church's main attraction, the Enthroned Madonna with Child painting from the 15th century, attributed to the Master of Castelsardo
Master of Castelsardo
The Master of Castelsardo was an Italian painter active in Sardinia at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the sixteenth century. His name comes from a painting of the Madonna and Child currently in the cathedral of Castelsardo....
. Also from the latter artist is a St. Michael Archangel in the church's subterraneans, now home to the diocesan museum.