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Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Giovinazzo)

Coordinates: 41°11′22″N 16°40′24″E / 41.18944°N 16.67333°E / 41.18944; 16.67333
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Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
View of the co-cathedral and the ancient area from the port of Giovinazzo
Map
41°11′22″N 16°40′24″E / 41.18944°N 16.67333°E / 41.18944; 16.67333
LocationGiovinazzo, Apulia
AddressQuare Duomo, nr. 2, Giovinazzo
CountryItaly
DenominationCatholic
History
Consecrated23 May 1283
Architecture
Years built1125–1180
Administration
DioceseMolfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi

The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the cathedral of Giovinazzo and a co-cathedral of the diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi.

It is an Italian national monument.

Interior of the cathedral

History

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The current cathedral, which stands on the site of an older building, called by the sources Santa Maria de Episcopio, was built during the 12th century in the Norman age, dating back to between 1125 (beginning of the construction of the crypt) and 1180 (completion of the upper church).

The building was consecrated only a century later, on 23 May 1283. The Romanesque cathedral had three naves divided by columns, with a trussed ceiling, false galleries and a mosaic floor. Few traces remain of this church today, due to the renovation works on the building during the eighteenth century (between 1730 and 1752 under bishop Paolo de Mercuzo), which led to the total renovation of the interiors according to the baroque taste: they belong to the ancient Romanesque church the rear façade, closed between two bell towers (of which the smallest, however, is from the seventeenth century), part of the presbytery area and the crypt.

It is known that on 16 July 1522 Duke Don Ferdinando of Capua received homage from the two mayors of the squares and the body of the Universitas (city title).[1]

The new organ dates back to 1779, commissioned by La Pegna.[2]

Entrance of the co-cathedral.

Other events

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In the 1970s, various ancient documents were lost due to theft in the diocese of Piglia but the Carabinieri of Puglia made a major discovery of the various manuscripts, including some of those from the co-cathedral of Giovinazzo, recovered in 2010.[3]

On 6 January 2025, the bishop of the diocese H.E. Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia presided over the mass and opened the holy door of the Co-Cathedral.[4][5]

Description

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Inside, the church has three naves divided by pillars, with a large transept, three side chapels on each side, and a large main altar. The apse is completely covered with canvases by the Giovinazzo painter Carlo Rosa from 1676, which depict Maria Assunta and other saints. In the right arm of the transept and in the presbytery area, during the restoration work of the 1990s, traces of mosaics from the ancient Romanesque flooring of the cathedral were brought to light, dating back to the end of the 12th century.

The altars of the side chapels are dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Blessed Nicola Pagla, the Crucifix, Santa Maria di Loreto and San Francesco Saverio. The most important is the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, built in 1768 by Gennaro Sammartino and Crescenzo Tronchese. Of particular historical-artistic value are two panels: one from the thirteenth century, of Byzantine workmanship, depicting the Madonna of Corsignano; and the other fifteenth-century one depicting the Redeemer.

Crypt

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The cathedral of Giovinazzo has an extensive and very ancient crypt, in fact the remains of pre-Christian capitals were found around a robbery that occurred in May 1898.[6]

Terragna marble tombstone, bearing the recumbent figure in relief of the knight armed with shields depicting the noble arm of the House with an epigraph, sculpted by the noble captain Enrico Zurolo, which is preserved in the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo (BA).

Tombstones

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From the left nave you go down into the crypt, the oldest part of the cathedral. It is made up of 10 bare columns and 12 pillars protruding from the perimeter walls. Tombstones are present in the walls and floor; among these that of the young Antonio Sindolfi of 1386.

There is also a tomb of a knight, one Enrico Zurolo, belonging to the noble Zurolo family of the same name. On the Terragna tombstone we read: D.O.M. | HENRICO ZVRVLO FORMER CAPYTIORVM PARTENOPEA | FAMILIA QUEM PRAETER | NOBILISSISSI GENERIS VETVSTATEM FIDES | COSTANTIA VITA INTEGRITAS DECORARVNT | NI. ANT. I.V.D. ET ABBAS HIERON | FILII PIESS PATRI OPT. PP. MDXLII VIX AN. LXIII | VSQUE AD DIEM NOVISSIMVM.[7]

Restorations

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On 24 July 2022, the chapel of the crucifix was reopened to the public after a Eucharistic celebration and the works of art were also relocated to their main places in the minor altar.[8]

From February 2023 until mid-June 2024, important restoration works on the attic of the co-cathedral were initiated, using the 8 x 1000 funds intended for the Roman Catholic Church.[9]

Bibliography

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Historical sources

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  • Raffaella Cassano; Sergio Leonardi (2001). Cosimo Damiano Fonseca (ed.). Cattedrali di Puglia, una storia lunga duemila anni [Cathedrals of Puglia, a two thousand year history] (in Italian). Illustrators: Nicola Amato, Sergio Leonardi. Bari (BA): M. Adda. ISBN 9788880824336. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  • Ezio De Cillis (1989). La cattedrale di Giovinazzo. Restauri e rinvenimenti, in Cultura e società in Puglia in età sveva e angioina [The cathedral of Giovinazzo. Restorations and discoveries, in Culture and society in Puglia in the Swabian and Angevin ages] (in Italian). Bitonto (BA): F. Moretti. pp. 327–364. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  • Gennaro Zurolo (2017). "THE ZUROLOS, Simplified ascending family line". La Città nobile di Giovinazzo e Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Ammiraglio e Balì dei Cavalieri di Malta nel XVII secolo (alla luce di documenti inediti) [The noble city of Giovinazzo and Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Admiral and Bailiff of the Knights of Malta in the 17th century (in the light of unpublished documents)] (in Italian). Rome (RM). pp. 30 and 144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Michele Bonserio (February 11, 2022). Inventario analitico dei documenti cartacei dell'Archivio Capitolare della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo. Sec. XV-sec. XIX [Analytical inventory of paper documents in the Chapter Archives of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo. Section 15th-century XIX] (in Italian). Gambini Editore, Pro Loco Association of Giovinazzo. ISBN 9791280787255. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  • Gennaro Zurolo (2024). "IV". Casa Zurolo. Origini e sviluppo di una famiglia feudale dell'Italia meridionale [Zurolo House. Origins and development of a feudal family from Southern Italy] (in Italian). p. 114.
  • Diego de Ceglia; Francesco De Nicolo (November 1, 2024). La Cattedrale di Giovinazzo. Fonti archivistiche e saggi di lavoro [The Cathedral of Giovinazzo. Archival sources and work essays] (in Italian). La Nuova Mezzina. ISBN 9788898868551. Retrieved January 18, 2025.

Archival sources

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Newspaper articles

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  • Pasquale Corsi; Grazia Distaso; Trifone Gargano; Clara Gelao; Ferdinando Merizzi; Pasquale Rossi; Ugo Rubini; Pietro Sisto (December 2013). "L'organo della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The organ of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo]. Fogli di Periferia (in Italian) (1–2). Putignano (BA): Grafiche Vito Radio Editore srl: 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69. ISSN 2284-0710.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Michele de Palma (2016). "L'obituario trecentesco della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The fourteenth-century obituary of the Giovinazzo Cathedral]. Settentrione-Nuova Serie (in Italian) (28). Painosalama Oy, Turku: 31 and 32. ISSN 1237-9964.
  • Diego De Ceglio (October 10, 2018). "LA CRIPTA DELLA CATTEDRALE DI GIOVINAZZO TRA XIX E XX SECOLO («I segreti del tempo» raccontati in memoria di don Gaetano Valente)" [THE CRYPT OF THE GIOVINAZZO CATHEDRAL BETWEEN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES ("The secrets of time" told in memory of Don Gaetano Valente)]. La Piazza di Giovinazzo (in Italian) (30): 20 and 21.

Notes

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  1. ^ G. De Ninno; N. Di Cagno-Politi; E. Rogadeo; L-Sylos (December 1894). Archivio storico pugliese, organo della Società di Storia Patria per la Puglia · Volume 1 [Apulian historical archive, organ of the Society of Homeland History for Puglia · Volume 1]. 1 (in Italian). Vol. 1. On 16 July 1522 in the Cathedral church of Giovinazzo homage was solemnly sworn by the Mayors of the two Squares and by the entire body of the University to the said Duke Don Ferdinando of Capua, in the presence of the viceroy and Mr. Rahoa della Marra di Barletta, vice-duke, the bishop Marcello de Planca with all the clergy and a large crowd of people. Bari (BA). p. 62. Retrieved January 20, 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Pasquale Corsi; Grazia Distaso; Trifone Gargano; Clara Gelao; Ferdinando Merizzi; Pasquale Rossi; Ugo Rubini; Pietro Sisto (December 2013). "L'organo della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The organ of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo]. Fogli di Periferia (in Italian) (1–2). Putignano (BA): Grafiche Vito Radio Editore srl: 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69. ISSN 2284-0710.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ Michele de Palma (2016). "L'obituario trecentesco della Cattedrale di Giovinazzo" [The fourteenth-century obituary of the Giovinazzo Cathedral]. Settentrione-Nuova Serie (in Italian) (28). During the last decade, the close understanding with the Bari Unit of the Command Carabinieri Protection of Cultural Heritage led to the recovery of a substantial amount documentary, bibliographic and artistic material belonging to the Church, which - at least since the 1970s - had been found to be unavailable2. Among the various manuscripts identified by the Carabinieri and returned to the Diocese, the parchment code occupies an important place of the Cathedral of Giovinazzo, dating back to 1301 (trace of which had been lost), rediscovered in 2010, together with a parchment from 1170, from a private resident in Berwyn (Illinois, USA). Painosalama Oy, Turku: 31 and 32. ISSN 1237-9964.
  4. ^ Staff of GIOVINAZZO LIVE .IT (December 28, 2024). "La Concattedrale di Giovinazzo è chiesa giubilare" [The Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo is a jubilee church]. GIOVINAZZO LIVE .IT (in Italian). The Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo has been designated a Jubilee church and is among the 80 Apulian churches indicated as such for the 2025 Jubilee, launched last December 24 by Pope Francis with the opening of the Holy Door. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  5. ^ Gianluca Battista (January 6, 2025). "Celebrazione solenne ed apertura porta di Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia" [Solemn celebration and opening of the door by Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia]. GIOVINAZZO viva (in Italian). Today, January 6, the Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo will host the rite of the opening of the Holy Door and the solemn celebration of the start of the Jubilee journey officiated by the bishop, H.E. Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  6. ^ Diego De Ceglio (October 10, 2018). "LA CRIPTA DELLA CATTEDRALE DI GIOVINAZZO TRA XIX E XX SECOLO («I segreti del tempo» raccontati in memoria di don Gaetano" [THE CRYPT OF THE GIOVINAZZO CATHEDRAL BETWEEN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES ("The secrets of time" told in memory of Don Gaetano]. La Piazza di Giovinazzo (in Italian) (30). There is a very ancient crypt under the co-cathedral, inside there are On 4 May 1898 Bernich wrote: «Crypt. The crypt has been covered of cross vaults supported by pillars and 10 columns; all of stone calcareous. The capitals, like the vaults, were covered in stucco and in the last century transformed in Baroque style. Once the stucco has been removed, you can see the original carvings, some of them capitals are defaced and one absolutely must be replaced. The plan of crypt has been filled and raised by over 50 centimeters and completely covers the bases of the columns; this will have to be purged to uncover the ancient plan and redo it limestone slab flooring, as found in other ancient cathedrals. Era desire of the chapter to restore the two side staircases in the crypt, as it were they see in almost all southern cathedrals, for example, Bitonto, S. Nicola in Bari etc., but no matter how many studies and investigations I have been able to do, I am convinced that it is not possible to do so, given the subsequent construction that took place above cathedral, who work precisely on the spot where the two originally stood steps. In the crypt there are three rooms, marked on the plan with the letter A.A.A.; two near the apse and one where there was certainly the passage of one of the side stairs; these spaces are totally filled with bones and earth and must be emptied to be sterilized. … Exterior east side. This is the side that preserves the most its original state, however, towards the end of the last century various restorations were carried out, including the opening of a window that corresponds to the crypt below. The window, however, with its rude baroque shape, disfigures the entire façade. So I planned to reduce it to a rectangular shape with an arch in the center like those existing in the basilica of S. Nicola in Bari".: 20 and 21.
  7. ^ Gennaro Zurolo (2017). "Linea genealogica aascendentale semplificata" [Simplified ascending family line]. La Città nobile di Giovinazzo e Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Ammiraglio e Balì dei Cavalieri di Malta nel XVII secolo (alla luce di documenti inediti) [The noble city of Giovinazzo and Frà Giovanni Capece Zurlo seu Zurolo, Admiral and Bailiff of the Knights of Malta in the 17th century (in the light of unpublished documents)] (in Italian). Rome (RM). pp. 30 and 144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Staff of sir Agezia d'informazione (July 23, 2022). "Diocesi: Molfetta, torna visibile l'altare del Crocifisso nella Concattedrale di Giovinazzo" [Diocese: Molfetta, the altar of the Crucifix becomes visible again in the Co-Cathedral of Giovinazzo]. sir Agezia d'informazione (in Italian). For a few days, with the dismantling of the scaffolding which allowed the relocation of the restored works, it has been possible to admire the Chapel of the Crucifix of the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Giovinazzo in its newfound beauty. This was announced by the parish priest Don Andrea Azzollini who has scheduled a Eucharistic celebration of thanksgiving for tomorrow, Sunday 24 July, at 7pm. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  9. ^ Gianluca Battista (February 23, 2023). "Lavori di restauro al sottotetto della Concattedrale di Giovinazzo" [Restoration work on the attic of the Concathedral of Giovinazzo]. GIOVINAZZO viva (in Italian). Restoration work on the attic of the Concathedral of Santa Maria Assunta has been underway for a few days. The scaffolding effectively blocked the usual entrance from Piazza Duomo and only the one from Via Marina was left open to the faithful for safety reasons. The complete restoration will be made possible thanks to the 8 x 1000 to the Catholic Church... Retrieved January 11, 2025.
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Official

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Other

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