Alghero Cathedral, otherwise the Cathedral of St. Mary the Immaculate ( ), is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

in the

province of Sassari The province of Sassari (; ; ; ; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital was the city of Sassari. On 1 April 2025, the province was suppressed in favor of the new Metropolitan City of Sassari, which corres ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, Italy. It is located in the historic center of the city. It was the seat of the Bishop of Alghero from 1503 to 1986, and since 1986 has been that of the Bishop of Alghero-Bosa. Alghero was designated as a diocesan seat in 1503 but construction work on the cathedral did not begin until 1567. It was inaugurated in 1593 but was not finished. After several restorations it was consecrated in 1730. The church was originally in Catalan-

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

style, as can be seen in the five chapels and

ambulatory The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...

of the presbytery, which also includes the octagonal base of the bell tower. The nave and the two aisles are however in Late Renaissance style. The main altar was designed by the Genovese artist

Giuseppe Massetti Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. The feminine form of the name is Giuseppa or Giuseppina. People with the given name include: :''Note ...

(1727): the sculpture shows Mary the Immaculate flanked by angels. He also designed the ambulatory and the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

. In 1862 a Neo-Classical

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

was added to the façade, which dramatically changed its appearance. The first chapel on the right side is dedicated to the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. Its imposing, marble altar was inaugurated in 1824. It is located inside a circular temple, reminding the

Temple of Vesta The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Glossary of ancient Roman religion#aedes, Aedes Vestae''; Italian language, Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), was an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. It is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the H ...

in Rome.

The cathedral is the burial site of the Italian-born

Duke of Montferrat The marquises and dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the northwest of his ki ...

(1762-1799) and his brother Count of Asti (1766-1802) who died on the island having caught

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. The marble mausoleum was sculpted by

Felice Festa Felice is a unisex given name. It is a common name in Italian, where it is equivalent to Felix. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment Acting *Felice Andreasi (1928–2005), Italian actor *Felice Farina (born 1954), Italia ...

in the early 19th century.

Gallery

Alghero Dom Altar.jpg, Altar Alghero Cathedrale.jpg, Alghero Cathedral: 19th century Neo-Classical addition to west front Domportal Alghero.JPG, Original Gothic portal Alghero - Cathedral-003.jpg, Main altar by Giuseppe Massetti File:Alghero Cathedral Catalan Gothic.jpg, Alghero Cathedral Catalan Gothic

Sources and external links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Alghero

Website of Diocese of Alghero-Bosa

References

* Francesca Segni Pulvirenti, Aldo Sari. ''Architettura tardogotica e d'influsso rinascimentale''. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1994. * Salvatore Naitza. ''Architettura dal tardo '600 al classicismo purista''. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1992. * Maria Grazia Scano. ''Pittura e scultura dell'Ottocento''. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1997. Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Churches in the province of Sassari

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Gothic architecture in Sardinia Burial sites of the House of Savoy {{Italy-RC-cathedral-stub