Ripatransone Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Ripatransone; Basilica Concattedrale dei Santi Gregorio Magno e Margherita) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

and

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

in the town of

Ripatransone Ripatransone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about northeast of Ascoli Piceno. History The hill of Ripatransone (whose name means "rock of Trans ...

province of Ascoli Piceno The province of Ascoli Piceno ( it, Provincia di Ascoli Piceno) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ascoli Piceno, and the province is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Province of Fermo to the no ...

, region of

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, Italy. It is located on Piazza Ascanio Condivi. The cathedral is dedicated to

Saint Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

and to Saint Margaret. It was formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Ripatransone but is now a co-cathedral in the Diocese of San Benedetto del Tronto-Ripatransone-Montalto.

History and decoration

The main layout of the cathedral was erected between 1597 and 1623 by the architect Giuseppe Guerra. The octagonal

tiburium In architecture, the lantern tower is a tall construction above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church, with openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing (so it also called a crossing lante ...

(corridor across base of

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fr ...

drum) dates to 1786, the Neoclassical façade to 1842, while the bell-tower was built from 1884 to 1902. The architect of the latter was F. Vespignani. The interior was frescoed in the 1950s by the brothers Michelangelo and Marcantonio Bedini. The spandrels depict the four evangelists. while in the dome are the four cardinal virtues. They also painted the apse frescoes. The wooden pulpit with panels depicting the five glorious mysteries was carved by D. Bonfini of Patrignone. The apse has wooden choir stalls (1620) by Agostilio Evangelisti. The main altar has two paintings, a 17th-century canvas depicting ''San Gregorio Magno'' and an 18th-century ''Nativity''. Among other works in the church are a polychrome wooden crucifix putatively donated by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

in 1571 and attributed to Giovanni Battista Casignola. There is also an altarpiece by

Orazio Gentileschi Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After ...

. There are three canvases depicting the ''Madonna and Child, St Peter, St Roch, St Antony of Padua, and John the Baptist'' (1579) by

Simone de Magistris Simone de Magistris (known from 1555–1613) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Born at Caldarola, Marche, he was the son of Giovanni Andrea de Magistris Simone de Magistris (known from 1555–1613) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Born a ...

; a ''Carlo Borromeo'' (1623) attributed to

Alessandro Turchi Alessandro Turchi (1578 – 22 January 1649) was an Italian painter of the early Baroque, born and active mainly in Verona, and moving late in life to Rome. He also went by the name Alessandro Veronese or the nickname ''L'Orbetto''. His styl ...

; and an altarpiece S. Ciannavei di Ascoli Piceno (active 18th–19th centuries). The musical organ (1783) was made by the Venetian Gaetano Callido. It was originally made for the Church of the Magdalene (''Chiesa della Maddalena'') of the Franciscans. From the cathedral one can enter the Diocesan ''Sanctuary of the Madonna'', known also as the ''Sanctuary of San Giovanni'' (patroness of the city since 1893). The sanctuary was erected in 1846–58 by design of G. Carducci of Fermo, and it houses four statues by Luigi Fontana. The aedicule, designed by Francesco Vespignani in 1881, houses the venerated Simulacro (1620), a work of S. Sebastiani. The crypt of the cathedral has a polychrome ceramic crucifix by Giuseppe Marinucci.Comune of Ripatransone
tourism entry.

References

{{coord, 42.9991, N, 13.7610, E, source:wikidata, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in the Marche Neoclassical architecture in le Marche Roman Catholic churches completed in 1623 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1842 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in the Province of Ascoli Piceno 1623 establishments in Italy Neoclassical church buildings in Italy