Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta - Troia, Italy
N 41° 21.665 E 015° 18.495
33T E 525782 N 4578887
Built in the first quarter of the 12th century, it is reckoned a masterpiece of Apulian Romanesque architecture and is particularly noted for the rose window and the bronze doors of the west front.
Waymark Code: WMRA5F
Location: Puglia, Italy
Date Posted: 05/30/2016
Views: 1
Formerly the seat of the Bishops of Troia, it is now a co-cathedral in the diocese of Lucera-Troia.
The church received its present groundplan in the first quarter of the 12th century through the substantial enlargements of Bishop William II of Troia, who from 1093 had the present nave built. The construction of the present apse may well also date from this period.
The west front of the cathedral is richly decorated. The lower part was built as part of Bishop William's works that took place between 1107 and 1120.
The construction of the church exterior is held to be unusually ornate for Apulia.
The rose window is famous as one of the most beautiful in Apulia. It consists of eleven slender columns assembled in a wheel, the spaces between them filled with decorative carved stone grilles (transenne), a very rare form of the rose window.
The famous doors of the main portal were made by one of the most celebrated bronze-casters of the 12th century, Oderisio of Benevento; according to the inscription, they were finished in 1119.
They contain 28 panels in niello work. The door knockers in the mouths of lions and the small figures of winged dragons, representing fear and desire are the originals, little masterpieces of medieval sculpture. Many of the panels were replaced during the 16th and 17th centuries, but the four along the top row are still the originals.
The church is built on a Latin cross plan and contains a central nave, the height of which is perhaps the most striking feature of the interior, and two side-aisles separated by two round-arched arcades of 6 marble columns each.
Address:
Piazza Papa Giovanni XXIII, 71029 Troia FG, Italy
Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic
Date founded or constructed: 12th century
Web site: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
1.Describe your visit, including the date, with as much detail as possible
2.Provide at least one original photograph – no need to include your GPS in the picture
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|