Gaeta Cathedral
Description
Gaeta Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of Saints Erasmus and Marcian and St. Mary of the Assumption, is the main Catholic church in Gaeta, Italy, and the seat of the local archdiocese. It was first built in the 9th century on the site of Santa Maria del Parco and over time was expanded into a seven-aisled church. The relics of St. Erasmus, brought to Gaeta in 842, made the cathedral a major center of devotion. Pope Paschal II consecrated it in 1106, and its distinctive bell tower, begun in 1148, was completed in 1279 with Arab-Norman decorative elements.
The cathedral was rebuilt in the 13th century, enriched with artworks, and altered in later centuries. Major Baroque renovations in the 17th century included a new apse and crypt, while an 18th-century redesign by Pietro Paolo Ferrara gave the interior its neoclassical style. The façade was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style between 1903 and 1950.
Pope Pius IX elevated the church to a minor basilica in 1848, and it was declared a national monument in 1941. Damaged by bombing in 1943, it was restored and reopened in 1950. Further renovations between 2008 and 2014 uncovered ancient columns and restored the crypt.
The cathedral’s most striking features are its tall medieval bell tower with Arab-Norman motifs, the 15th-century silver statue of St. Erasmus, and its blend of Gothic, Baroque, and neoclassical architecture.