Orvieto Cathedral
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| - | '''Orvieto''' is a city in southwestern [[Umbria]], [[Italy]] situated on the flat summit of a large [[butte]] of volcanic [[tuff]]. The site of the city is among the most dramatic in Europe, rising above the almost-vertical faces of tuff<!--NOT tufa--> cliffs that are completed by defensive walls built of the same stone. | ||
| - | === The Duomo === | ||
| - | :''[[Orvieto Cathedral]]'' | ||
| - | On November 15, 1290, Pope Nicholas IV laid the cornerstone for the present building and dedicated it to the Assumption of the Virgin, a feast for which the city had a long history of special devotion. The design has often been attributed to [[Arnolfo di Cambio]], but the prevailing modern opinion is that its master mason was an obscure monk named [[Fra' Bevignate]] from Perugia. The church is striped in white [[travertine]] and greenish-black [[basalt]] in narrow bands, similar in many ways to the cathedral of Siena and other central Italian cathedrals of that era. In the following decade, cathedral authorities called Sienese architect and sculptor [[Lorenzo Maitani]] to stabilize the building and design a façade. He enlarged the choir and planned a transept with two chapels (c.1308-1330), spaces that were not finished until long after his death. The façade (''illustration, right'') is particularly striking and includes some remarkable sculpture by [[Lorenzo Maitani]] (14th century). Inside the cathedral, the [[Chapel of San Brizio]] is frescoed by [[Fra Angelico]] and with [[Luca Signorelli]]'s masterpiece, his ''[[Last Judgment]]'' (1449-51). On the left side of this chapel are the tombs of the [[Gualterio]] family. | ||
| - | The [[Corporal of Bolsena]], on view in The Duomo, dates from a Eucharistic miracle in Bolsena, Italy in 1263 when a consecrated host began to bleed onto a corporal, the small cloth upon which the host and chalice rest during the Canon of the Mass. | + | The '''Duomo di Orvieto''' is a large 14th century [[Roman Catholic]] [[cathedral]] situated in the town of [[Orvieto]] in [[Umbria]], central [[Italy]]. The building was constructed under the orders of [[Pope Urban IV]] to commemorate and provide a suitable home for the [[Corporal of Bolsena]], a [[miracle]] which is said to have occurred in 1263 in the nearby town of [[Bolsena]], when a traveling priest who had doubts about the truth of [[transubstantiation]] found that his [[Host (Holy Communion)|Host]] was bleeding so much that it stained the altar cloth. The cloth is now stored in the Chapel of the Corporal inside the cathedral. |
| + | Situated in a position dominating the town of Orvieto which sits perched on a [[volcanic plug]], the cathedral’s façade is a classic piece of religious construction, containing elements of design from the 14th to the 20th century, with a large [[rose window]], golden mosaics and three huge bronze doors, while inside resides two frescoed chapels decorated by some of the best Italian painters of the period with images of [[Judgement Day]]. | ||
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Revision as of 14:13, 17 July 2009
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The Duomo di Orvieto is a large 14th century Roman Catholic cathedral situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. The building was constructed under the orders of Pope Urban IV to commemorate and provide a suitable home for the Corporal of Bolsena, a miracle which is said to have occurred in 1263 in the nearby town of Bolsena, when a traveling priest who had doubts about the truth of transubstantiation found that his Host was bleeding so much that it stained the altar cloth. The cloth is now stored in the Chapel of the Corporal inside the cathedral.
Situated in a position dominating the town of Orvieto which sits perched on a volcanic plug, the cathedral’s façade is a classic piece of religious construction, containing elements of design from the 14th to the 20th century, with a large rose window, golden mosaics and three huge bronze doors, while inside resides two frescoed chapels decorated by some of the best Italian painters of the period with images of Judgement Day.
