Todi Cathedral () is a mainly Gothic-style Roman Catholic

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 ...

Todi Todi (; ''Tuder'' in antiquity) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant view ...

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

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 the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. It was formerly the seat of the bishops of Todi, and since 1986 has been a

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

of the

diocese of Orvieto-Todi The Diocese of Orvieto-Todi () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. It was created in 1986 when the historical Diocese of Orvieto was united to the Diocese of Todi. The Diocese of Orvie ...

History

The cathedral stands on the site of a

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

edifice in the former Roman forum, in the present Piazza del Popolo in the centre of the city of Todi. Its early history is obscure. The earlier church here, believed to have been built around the year 1000, was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1190. The reconstruction took centuries, in part due to an earthquake in 1246 and a collapse of the roof in 1322; the cathedral was finished only in the late-14th century. It has been refurbished and altered several times since then.

Description

Exterior

The cathedral stands above two terraces at the top of a broad flight of steps. The main facade, faces Southwest, and dates from the 13th century but has been modified several times, most recently in the 16th century. The 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 ...

was begun in 1515 and completed under Bishop Biliotti between 1517 and 1523. The stained glass is not original, but is the result of 19th century restoration. The central portal with a pointed arch, has a carved wooden double door of 1521 by Antonio Bencivenni consisting of four upper panels depicting the Annunciation, the

Archangel Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

Saint Peter 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 Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, and six lower panels added in 1639. The stone frame of the arch is sculpted with delicate spirals of fronds with either flowers, animals, or faces in the center. The keystone of the freize is a Christ blessing. To the east of the main nave rises the 13th century

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 ...

; the base, like the Romanesque Eastern

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, is older than the facade; the final story on the tower was added only in the 19th century.Todi guida per i forestieri
by Giulio Pensi, Armando Comez (1912), Pages 47.

Interior

Concattedrale della Santissima Annunziata - Interno

The cathedral is built on a Latin cross plan. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is subdivided into three aisles, of which the central one is the widest and tallest, separated by two arcades of round arches supported by

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

. The main nave and side aisles are roofed with wooden beams, whereas the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

has

groin 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: La ...

ing. At the entrance to the southern aisle is the font, made by Piero di Moricone from

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

in 1507. On the counterfaçade is a large fresco depicting the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

(1596) painted by Ferraù Fenzoni known as "Il Faenzone". Many episodes and figures, including that of the seated Christ, though more condensed in this space, they are derived from Michelangelo's fresco at the Sistine Chapel. The wooden choir stalls are the work of Antonio Bencivenga and his son Sebastiano between 1521 and 1530. In the

is a crucifix painted on a panel, dating from the mid-13th century, while to the north of the presbytery is the Cesi Chapel, established by Bishop Angelo Cesi; the vault has frescoes of 1599 by Il Faenzone, who also created the painting on the chapel altar. In 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 ...

are three sculptures previously on the west front, attributed to

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano () was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Mo ...

and to "Il Rubeus".

Gallery

File:Todi009.jpg, The main Gothic portal File:Cathédrale de Todi 2.jpg, Exterior of the easter apse File:Todi016.jpg, The ''Last Judgment'' (1594–99) by Ferraù Fenzoni File:Todi014.jpg, The high altar and the ''Crucifixion'' (13th century)

Bibliography

* Prandi, Adriano, 1980: ''Ombrie romane'', pp. 269–283. Zodiaque, Abbaye Sainte-Marie de la Pierre-Qui-Vire, Saint-Léger-Vauban * Santini, Loretta, 1987: ''L'Ombrie, nouveau guide'', p. 59. Éditions Plurigraf, Narni - Terni * Touring Club Italiano, 2004: ''L'Italia: Umbria''. Touring Club Italiano-La Biblioteca di Repubblica

References

External links

Todi.org - La Cattedrale di Todi

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