Faenza Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo'') 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 ...

built in the style of the Tuscan

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in central

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

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 ...

. It is the seat of the Bishop of Faenza-Modigliana and is dedicated to

Saint Peter the Apostle Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

History

Construction of the cathedral began in 1474, on the site of a previous cathedral about which very little is known, by order of Carlo II Manfredi (lord of Faenza between 1468 and 1477), while his brother Federico was bishop of Faenza. The architect was the Florentine Giuliano da Maiano. Construction finished in 1515. The dedication to Saint Peter did not take place until 1581. The cathedral also has the status of a

basilica minor Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural ...

Description

The brick façade was left incomplete, in the sense that it was never fully faced in marble or stone. The church is built on a Latin cross ground plan. In the interior Giuliano appears to have been influenced by Brunelleschi's design of

San Lorenzo, Florence The Basilica di San Lorenzo (Basilica of St. Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the main market district of the city, and it is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici fam ...

, particularly in the use of alternating columns and pillars, especially noticeable in the arcades separating the central nave from the two side-aisles.

Works of art

The interior houses numerous works of art, particularly Renaissance sculpture. Of especial note are: the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of Graces, built as a diocesan sanctuary, which contains a fresco of 1412, depicting the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

breaking arrows, symbolising the dangers against which she offers protection; the tomb of Saint Terence, made in 1462 by an unnamed Tuscan master; the tomb of Saint Savinus (third quarter of the 15th century), possibly sculpted in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

by Benedetto da Maiano (brother of the architect); and the tomb of Saint Emilianus from the second half of the 15th century, of which some of the marble reliefs are now in the

Musée Jacquemart-André The Musée Jacquemart-André (, ) is a private museum located at 158 Boulevard Haussmann in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris. The museum was created from the private home of Édouard André (art collector), Édouard An ...

in Paris. The cathedral also contains a crucifix sculpted by an unknown Northern European wood sculptor (15th century) and, by Innocenzo da Imola, the Bonaccorsi Altarpiece, a 16th-century table still with its original gold and carved cornice and a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus and Saints

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 ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

Joachim Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...

and

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

(oil on canvas, 1526). The wooden choir stalls by the high altar are from 1513. Since 1898 the body of Saint

Peter Damian Peter Damian (; or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was an Italian Gregorian Reform, reforming Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine Christian monasticism, monk and cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo ...

has been buried in a side chapel. On the cathedral square in front of the building are the arcades known as the ''Portico degli Orefici'' ("Portico of the Goldsmiths"), built about 1610, and the monumental fountains, the bronzes of which also date from the 17th century.

Bibliography

*''Bellezza fede e cultura, Itinerari nella diocesi Faenza-Modigliana'', under the direction of the ''Ufficio diocesano per l'arte sacra e i beni culturali''. Faenza: Tipografia faentina (nd) *''Il Duomo di Faenza'': Faenza: Tipografia faentina (nd) *''La Madonna delle Grazie di Faenza, Notizie storiche'', under the direction of the ''Arciconfraternita della Beata Vergine delle Grazie''. Faenza: Tipografia faentina (2000) *''Il duomo di Faenza'', under the direction of Antonio Savioli. Florence: Nardini (1988)

External links

TerrediFaenza.it: cathedral
{{Coord, 44.2859, N, 11.884369, E, type:landmark_region:FR_source:frwiki, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Emilia-Romagna

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 ...

Renaissance architecture in Emilia-Romagna Buildings and structures in the Province of Ravenna Roman Catholic churches completed in 1515 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy