Bergamo Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale di Sant'Alessandro'') 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 ...

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, dedicated to Saint

Alexander of Bergamo Alexander of Bergamo (died c. 303) is the patron saint of Bergamo, as well as Capriate San Gervasio and Cervignano d'Adda. Alexander may have been a Roman soldier or resident of Bergamo who was tortured and killed for not renouncing his Christia ...

, patron saint of the city. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bergamo.

History

From no later than the 9th century there were two cathedrals in Bergamo: one was the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

of Saint Alexander, which stood on the site believed to be that of his martyrdom, and the other was dedicated to Saint Vincent, construction of which apparently began in the Lombard era, on the site of the present cathedral. Bishop Giovanni Barozzi commissioned the re-building of the cathedral of St. Vincent in the mid-15th century, for the plans of which

Filarete Antonio di Pietro Aver(u)lino (; – ), known as Filarete (; from , meaning "lover of excellence"), was a Florentine Renaissance architect, sculptor, medallist, and architectural theorist. He is perhaps best remembered for his design of the ide ...

claimed credit. In 1561 the Venetians demolished the cathedral of St. Alexander for reasons of military expediency, leaving St. Vincent's as the sole survivor. At the beginning of the 17th century Bishop Giovanni Emo unified the canons of the two old cathedrals. Finally Bishop Gregorio Barbarigo succeeded in obtaining from

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

'' Exponi nobis'' of 18 August 1697, which established for the diocese a single chapter and a single cathedral, changing the dedication of the surviving cathedral to Saint Alexander from Saint Vincent. In 1689, the structure was refurbished to designs by

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634/1638–1714) was an Italian people, Italian"Carlo Fontana."
''Encyclopæ ...

. Another major renovation was undertaken in the 19th century, culminating in the completion of the Neo-classical west front in 1889.

Interior

The cathedral has a Latin cross ground plan with a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The first side-chapel to the right contains a ''St. Benedict and Saints'' by Andrea Previtali (1524), and the first side-chapel to the left, the ''Madonna and child with saints'' by Giovan Battista Moroni (1576). The church also contains a ''Madonna with child with two doves'' by

Giovanni Cariani Giovanni Cariani (–1547), also known as Giovanni Busi or Il Cariani, was an Italian painter of the high-Renaissance, active in Venice and the Venetian mainland, including Bergamo, thought to be his native city. Overview His father, also Gio ...

, as well as canvases attributed to

Giambettino Cignaroli Giambettino Cignaroli (Verona, July 4, 1706 – Verona, December 1, 1770) was an Italian painter of the Rococo and early Neoclassicism, Neoclassic period. Biography He was a pupil of Santo Prunato and Antonio Balestra and active mostly in t ...

and

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting. About the same age as Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Tie ...

, including a ''Saints Firmus, Rusticus, and Proculus'' (1704). In the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

is a ''Martyrdom of Bishop Saint John of Bergamo'' (1731-1743) by

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; 5 March 1696 – 27 March 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

and a ''Saint Alexander'' by Carlo Innocenzo Carloni. The main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

was designed by

Filippo Juvarra Filippo Juvarra (7 March 1678 – 31 January 1736) was an Italian architect, scenographer, engraver and goldsmith. He was active in a late-Baroque architecture style, working primarily in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Biography Juvarra was born ...

. The choir area has wooden intaglio panels by Johann Karl Sanz.

Baptistery

Nearby stands the octagonal

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

, constructed in 1340 by Giovanni da Campione for the

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

. During major building works in 1650 the baptistery was dismantled, but was saved, and in 1856 reassembled in the canons' courtyard. It was moved to its present site in 1889. Inside are

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s of episodes of the Life of Christ, a statue of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and a

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

of 1340 by Giovanni da Campione. Round the upper level runs a colonnade, and over it stand eight 14th-century statues representing the

Virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...

Sources

Bergamo Cathedral official website

Bergamo Cathedral official website: virtual tour

Brief description

{{Authority control Churches in Bergamo Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Lombardy 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy