Frascati Cathedral (, ''Duomo di Frascati'') 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 ...

and

minor basilica 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 architectura ...

Frascati Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...

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 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 ...

, it is the seat of the

Bishop of Frascati The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a Latin suburbicarian see of the Diocese of Rome and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of th ...

Construction

Construction on the present building (the fifth cathedral of this see) began in 1598, to the designs of

Ottaviano Nonni Ottaviano Nonni (1536 – 6 August 1606), called Il Mascherino, was an Italian architect, sculptor, and painter born in Bologna. Apprentice of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, he was active in Emilia and in Rome, where he had been living in the rione ...

(best known as Mascherino). After twelve years, on 29 June 1610 the first Mass was celebrated. In 1696 Girolamo Fontana began work on a new façade, which was finished in 1700. The two bell towers on either side of it were constructed later.

Description

The cathedral is built on a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

floorplan, and houses a wooden crucifix of the 11th century from

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

,Tusculum was the place of origin of the bishopric now seated in Frascati a

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

(

Mysteries of the Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

) attributed to

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

, a relief by Pompeo Ferrucci (1612) representing Jesus handing over the keys to Saint Peter, and a 14th-century

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 ...

in the Chapel of the Gonfalone, that was retouched by Domenichino. On the interior side of the west front there is a bronze "Holy Year Cross" of 1750.

1943 bombing

The interior of the cathedral was destroyed by bombing on 8 September 1943, and so today it appears bare, except for a little chapel off to the right.

Funerary monument to Charles Edward Stuart

In the nave, on the inner side of the façade, there is a white marble funerary monument to

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

, the Young Pretender, with a memorial tablet. When he died in 1788, his brother, the Cardinal Duke of York and

bishop of Frascati The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a Latin suburbicarian see of the Diocese of Rome and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of th ...

Henry Benedict Stuart Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (6 March 1725 – 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, and was the third and final Jacobitism, Jacobite heir to pub ...

, celebrated his funeral here. The cathedral received many tokens of Henry's episcopal concern, most of which are still visible today. When the body of Charles Stuart was transferred to

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

in 1807 after the death of Henry, his heart and '' praecordia'' were left here in a small urn, placed under the floor below the funerary monument.

References and notes

External links

Official website

{{Coord, 41.80758611, 12.68159167, type:landmark_region:IT, format=dms, display=title Roman Catholic churches completed in 1610 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1700 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in the metropolitan city of Rome Roman Catholic churches in Lazio