Construction of the Brescia New Cathedral, Duomo Nuovo, was begun in 1604 at the site where the paleo-Christian 5th-6th century basilica of San Pietro de Dom was located. The original commission was given to Andrea Palladio, but the commission was subsequently granted to the architect Giovanni Battista Lantana. He was aided by Pietro Maria Bagnadore. Work was interrupted during a season of plague around 1630.
Work slowly but sporadically restarted on the construction, but the final impetus for completion came in the nineteenth century. The facade was designed by Giovanni Battista and Antonio Marchetti, while the dome, completed only in 1825, was designed by Luigi Cagnola and with its 80 meters is one of the highest in Italy.
The present dome was rebuilt after destruction during the Second World War. The facade contains statues of the Virgin of the Assumption and Saints Peter, Paul, James, and John.
Among the interior works of art are a scenes from the life of the Virgin by Girolamo Romanino (Marriage, Visitation, and Birth) and a Sacrifice of Isaac by Moretto da Brescia.
The interior contains a monument to the famous Brescian, the Pope Paul VI, found on the left transept. The statue (1975) is a work by Raffaele Scorzelli. The imposing Baroque church towers over the small round and rustic Romanesque church of the Old Cathedral of Brescia (Duomo Vecchio).
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.