Lodi - Duomo - affresco del Giudizio Universale

Lodi Cathedral (, ''Basilica Cattedrale della Vergine Assunta'') 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 ...

in Lodi,

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

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 also 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 ...

. Dedicated to the

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

, it is the seat of the

Bishop of Lodi The Diocese of Lodi () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church that existed since the 4th century; it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan.Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

troops in 1111. The first phase of construction, for which it is probable that materials from the old ''Laus Pompeia'' (in what is now

Lodi Vecchio Lodi Vecchio ( Ludesan: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, which is located about southeast of Milan and about west of Lodi. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree ...

) were reused, ended in 1163. 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 ...

was inaugurated with the

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

of the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of Saint Bassianus on 4 November 1163, in the presence of emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

. The second phase was carried on from 1170 to 1180, although the façade was completed only in 1284. Later, 18th century restorations altered the appearance of the building, which was however brought back to the original one in 1958–1965.

Overview

Façade

The façade, in brickwork, is asymmetrical and is in a typical Romanesque style, with the exception of the large

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 ( ...

entrance portico supported by small columns with lion sculptures at the base. Other features include the large central

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

and two Renaissance double

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

s, similar to those designed by the school of

Giovanni Antonio Amadeo 260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer. He dominated late fifteenth-century Lombard architecture and sculptu ...

for the

Certosa di Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small village of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built from 1396 to 1495, it was once located at the end of the Visconti Park a l ...

. There is also a niche housing the bronze statue of Saint Bassianus, a copy of the 1284 original in gilded copper, now inside the cathedral. The massive bell tower, built in 1538–1554 to a design by

Callisto Piazza file:(Venice) Decollazione del Battista - Callisto Piazza da Lodi - Gallerie Accademia.jpg, 280px, ''Beheading of the Baptist'', Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice Callisto Piazza (1500–1561) was an Italian painter. Biography Callisto, a member ...

, remained unfinished for military reasons.

Interior

The interior has a nave and two aisles, all

cross vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

ed, separated by cylindrical pilasters in brickwork. Artworks include a polyptych by

depicting the ''Massacre of the Innocents'', another polyptych by

Albertino Piazza Alberto or Albertino Piazza (1490–1528) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Lodi, Lombardy Lodi ( , ; Western Lombard, Ludesan: ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Lombardy, northern Italy, primarily on the western bank ...

with the ''Virgin in Heaven'' and a 15th century ''Universal Judgement''. Finally, the large apse is decorated by a mosaic executed by

Aligi Sassu Aligi Sassu (17 July 1912 – 17 July 2000) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Biography Aligi Sassu was born in Milan, Lombardy, the son of Lina Pedretti (from Parma, Emilia) and Antonio Sassu (from Sassari, Sardinia). His father was one ...

. Between the church and the adjoining Bishop's Palace (''Palazzo Vescovile''), is a court including what remains of the 1484

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, designed by

Giovanni Battagio Giovanni Battagio was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect. A follower of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, from 1483 he worked on Santa Maria presso San Satiro and other buildings in Milan. He designed the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Croce ...

and featuring brickwork columns and decorations. The complex also houses the Diocesan Museum of Holy Art.

Crypt

The crypt, whose entrance features a 12th-century

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 ...

, is the oldest section of the cathedral. Originally the pavement was 65 cm higher and the vaults were supported by brickwork pilasters. In its center is the altar (1856), which houses the remains of Saint Bassianus in a silver case, featuring the work of modern artists such as Giosuè Argenti and Tilio Nani. On the left of the high altar is the altar of Saint Alberto Quadrelli, bishop of Lodi from 1168 to 1173. In the northern aisle is a 15th-century sculpture group portraying the Dead Christ.

References

Sources

* * Genesi M.-G., "Gli Organi Storici del Lodigiano", Piacenza, L.I.R. Ediz., 2017, pp. 720. {{Authority control Basilica churches in Lombardy Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Lombardy 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy

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 ...

Romanesque architecture in Lombardy