Castellaneta Cathedral

Castellaneta Cathedral

Santa Maria Assunta is the Roman Catholic duomo or cathedral of Castellaneta, province of Taranto, region of Apulia, Italy.

History

The cathedral was initially dedicated to St Nicola of Bari, and dates at least to the Norman occupation of about the last decades of the year 1000. In the 15th-century, it was replaced with a Romanesque style church with a basilica layout with a central nave and two aisles separated by columns. All three end in semicircular apses. The church soon derived three chapels, that of the Santissimo Sacramento (1538); that of Santa Maria Consolatrice (1643), and that of the Santissimo Crocifisso. The former two were founded by confraternities. The church also has a chapel dedicated to San Nicola with Romanesque capitals. In 1771, a new white stone façade was added. Today, the bell-tower retains some of the Romanesque-Gothic elements. In the 18th century, new polychrome altars were built. The church underwent restoration in 2008.^[1] The church has 3 canvases painted by Carlo Porta. Adjacent to the church is the Palazzo Vescovile (Bishops' Palace).

References

1. Castellaneta Comune, entry on church.