Gallipoli Cathedral

Gallipoli, Italy

The Gallipoli Cathedral, formally the Co-Cathedral Basilica of Saint Agatha the Virgin, was built in 1629-1696. The church is a minor basilica and the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Nardò-Gallipoli.

The Baroque facade of the cathedral was designed by Giuseppe Zimbalo, Francesco Bischetini, and Scipione Lachibari. It is constructed out of carparo stone, sourced from Southern Italy. The church was built with a cruciform floorpan in the shape of a Latin cross.

The interior of the church is a mixture of the Byzantine and Renaissance styles. The nave is flanked by columns of grey marble, which support an arcade. The interior is ornamented by paintings by Giovanni Andrea Coppola, a painter native to Gallipoli. Nicolò Malinconico painted the frescoes on the walls and in the cupola, which depicts the martyrdom of Saint Agatha.

The cathedral's altar is made of a reused Ancient Roman marble stele. There is an Ancient Greek inscription on the stele.

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Details

Founded: 1629-1696
Category: Religious sites in Italy

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

David Jenkins (3 years ago)
Worth coming here just for this.
Isaac Simpson (5 years ago)
Beautiful cathedral with fascinating history. There are giant paintings on all the walls and the main one is very gruesome, depicting the torture of santa Agatha.
Richard Burgess (5 years ago)
Really good paintings around the cathedral very nice atmosphere.
Ronald Beniers (5 years ago)
The most beautiful Church of old Gallipoli.
Huykyung “Grace” Byun (5 years ago)
The cathedral basilica of Sant'Agata virgin and martyr (Basilica Cathedrālis S.Agathæ), also known as Gallipoli cathedral, is dedicated to the patron saint of the city of Gallipoli and of the diocese of the same name. The current cathedral church was elevated to a minor pontifical basilica in 1946 by Pope Pius XII, at the request of Bishop Nicola Margiotta. With the Royal Decree of November 21, 1940, the Italian king Vittorio Emanuele III elevated it to the status of a national monument due to its historical and artistic importance. It is the seat of an archpriest, of a chapter of the canons and of the homonymous parish. It is located in the center and at the highest point of the island, a site probably intended as a sacred area since ancient times. For the work the local builders Francesco Bischettimi and Scipione Lachibari were called, who followed the design of the entire factory built by Giovan Bernandino Genuino. Due to the large number of canvases it can be considered a real art gallery. It is a baroque church of the seventeenth century, rebuilt to replace the ancient Romanesque church dedicated to St. John Chrysostom. The canon of the cathedral D'Elia claimed that the Basilica dated back to the XIIth and therefore had to have a Norman-Romanesque-Pugliese style. In 1629 the ancient temple was destroyed and the first stone of the new church was laid, in the presence of the archpriest Michele di Valandia, high prelate of the Chapter, deputy to bishop Rueda absent. Fundamental was the donation made in this regard by the doctor, philosopher, teacher, scholar of Gallipoli Giovanni Giacomo Lazzari. An inscription placed by the then bishop of Gallipoli Oronzo Filomarini (placed today above the entrance to the sacristy) explains the origin of the Cathedral, once dedicated to St. John Chrysostom.
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