Massa Marittima Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Massa Marittima
Massa Marittima is a town and comune of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills...
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, 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...
, and the seat of the Diocese of Massa Marittima.
Architecture
The cathedral measures 58.72 metres (192.7 ft) by 18 metres (59.1 ft) and is built on the ground plan of a Latin cross.The façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
reveals the different influences which inspired the anonymous architect: the blind arcade
Blind arcade
A blind arcade is an arcade that is composed of a series of arches that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e. the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is designed as an ornamental architectural element,...
s in the lower part, decorated with circular openings and lozenge
Lozenge
A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...
s, the loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
to in the middle part and the surmounting tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
are in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
n 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,...
style. The large ogival
Ogive
An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object.-Applied physical science and engineering:In ballistics or aerodynamics, an ogive is a pointed, curved surface mainly used to form the approximately streamlined nose of a bullet or other projectile.The traditional...
mullioned window and the three spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
s show instead a Sienese
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
influence.
The central portal flanked by two lion columns has five panels dating from the early 13th century illustrating the legend of Saint Cerbonius. The three central columns of the tympanum rest on three figures: a bearded man, a griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
and a horse.
The bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
is the original 13th century one in the lower part while the upper area is a 19th century addition. The polygonal tambour
Tambour
In classical architecture, a tambour is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration....
, standing at 37.86 metres (124.2 ft), is from the 15th century.
Interior
The interior has a basilicaBasilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
plan with an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and two aisles, divided by cylindrical columns and cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s which end in complex composite capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
. Next to the entrance door, under the 14th century triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
of the Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints, is a Roman sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
from the 4th century. On the right of the counter-façade is a series of panels in soft stone, dating from the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
or, according to some sources, to the 12th-13th century. Over the panels are fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, of the 14th century, and the legend of Saint Julian
Saint Julian
Saint Julian may refer to:*Julian of Antioch , venerated as a Christian martyr of the fourth century*Julian of Norwich , one of the greatest English mystics*Julian of Toledo , Roman Catholic but born to Jewish parents...
, of the 15th century.
The central rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
has rare stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
of the Sienese School
Sienese School
The Sienese School of painting flourished in Siena, Italy between the 13th and 15th centuries and for a time rivaled Florence, though it was more conservative, being inclined towards the decorative beauty and elegant grace of late Gothic art...
. On the left is the monumental baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, with a rectangular bath surmounted by a small temple. The baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
dates from 1267.
The south aisle houses paintings/sculptures of the Madonna in Glory by Antonio Nasini (late 17th century) and the Nativity of the Virgin by Rutilio Manetti (16th century). In the chapel on the right of 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 a painted cross by Segna di Bonaventura
Segna di Bonaventura
Segna di Bonaventura, also known as Segna de Bonaventura, and as Segna di Buonaventura, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School. He was active from about 1298 to 1331. In 1306 he painted a panel for the office of the Biccherna in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. In 1317 he painted an altar panel...
(14th century). The wooden pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
is of the 17th century. Also by Rutilio Manetti are the paintings/sculptures of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
and the Eternal Father in the chapel to the right of the major one.
The high altar, in marble (1626), has a polychrome
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
wooden crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
by Giovanni Pisano
Giovanni Pisano
Giovanni Pisano was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano, he received his training in the workshop of his father....
(early 14th century). At the foot of the altar are two wooden angels from the 15th century, by Domenico di Niccolò dei Cori. Behind it is the Ark of Saint Cerbonius, which was created in 1342, with reliefs depicting stories of the saint.
On the right wall is a 15th century fresco of Saint Cerbonius Accompanied by Ducks, while a Maestà
Maestà (Duccio)
The Maestà, or Maestà of Duccio is an altarpiece composed of many individual paintings commissioned by the city of Siena in 1308 from the artist Duccio di Buoninsegna. The front panels make up a large enthroned Madonna and Child with saints and angels, and a predella of the Childhood of Christ...
attributed to Duccio di Buoninsegna (1316) can be seen in the chapel to the left of the major one, together with an Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
by Raffaello Vanni
Raffaello Vanni
Raffaello Vanni was an Italian painter of the Baroque.He was born at Siena. He first trained with his father, Francesco Vanni, who died in 1603. He was afterwards sent to Rome, and recommended to the care of Antonio Carracci. He became a follower of the style of Pietro da Cortona. He painted a ...
(17th century).
The 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....
houses small statues of prophets and saints by an unknown mid-14th century Sienese sculptor, and a 15th century fresco, Crucifixion with Saint Cerbonius and Saint Bonaventura of Siena.