Fiesole Cathedral (, ''Duomo di Fiesole''), officially the Cathedral of Saint Romulus of Fiesole, 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 ...

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, central Italy. It is the seat of the

Bishop of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was crea ...

and is dedicated to Saint Romulus.

History

The first cathedral of Fiesole was situated lower down the hill than the present one, and had been built, according to the tradition, over the site of the martyrdom of Saint Romulus of Fiesole. In 1028 the present cathedral was founded by Bishop Jacopo the Bavarian to replace it, as he wished it to be inside the city walls. The old cathedral was converted into a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey and became known as the ''"Badia di Fiesole"''. It was rebuilt in 1466 by a disciple of

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi ( ; ) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti, was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to ...

. Its façade, dating from the 11th century, is still preserved. It contains notable early works by

Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...

. The abbey was closed in 1778.

Description

The exterior is Romanesque. The cathedral is built on 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 ...

floorplan with a nave and two aisles separated by stone columns which have capitals decorated with figures and animals. It has a raised presbytery over the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

and a

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

ed ceiling. The picturesque battlemented

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was built in 1213. The church was restored in 1256. The interior has little decoration, apart from the marble altar (1273) and two frescoes, depicting

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

(c. 1420) and

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famou ...

(late 15th century). In the presbytery is a

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...

of the ''Three stories of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

'', by

Bicci di Lorenzo Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence. He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in th ...

, commissioned in 1450. In the Salutati Chapel is the funerary monument of bishop Leonardo Salutati, executed by

.Toscana: Duomo di Fiesole
In the Canon's Chapel is a marble altar by

Andrea Ferrucci Andrea Ferrucci (1465–1526), also known as Andrea di Piero Ferruzzi and as Andrea da Fiesole, was an Italian sculptor who was born in Fiesole, Fiesole, Tuscany, in 1465. He was a first cousin once removed of the artist Simone Ferrucci, Franc ...

(1492–1494). In the counter-façade is a huge statue of Saint Romulus by

Giovanni della Robbia Giovanni della Robbia (1469–1529) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, mostly in ceramics. Biography Giovanni della Robbia was the son of Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525), brother of Girolamo della Robbia (1488–1566) and grandnephew of Luca ...

(1521). The crypt's small columns have 11th century capitals, perhaps taken from the original construction. The decoration includes late Gothic medallions on the vault, while on the left wall is a cycle of the ''Stories of St. Romulus'' by the school of

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

. The bishops' funerary chapel has a 13th-century icon attributed to one "Master of Bigallo", portraying the

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

(1215–1220).

Notes

{{Commons category, Duomo (Fiesole)

Romanesque architecture in Tuscany Churches in the Metropolitan City of Florence Cathedrals in Tuscany Buildings and structures in Fiesole

History

Description

See also

Notes