Ostuni Cathedral
Santa Maria Assunta is the Roman Catholic duomo or cathedral of Ostuni, province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy.
History
The cathedral originally was a church practicing orthodox rites prior to the year 1000. In 1228 till 1229, the church was erected in Romanesque style by Frederick II of Swabia. The earthquake of 1456, strongly felt in Brindisi, damaged the church. During 1469-1495 it was again rebuilt in a Gothic style.
The façade acquired its elegant Rose window in the 15th-century. The church once had four such windows. One of the portals is dedicated to San Biagio, one of the patrons of the city, and has the saint carved on the portal. A restoration in the 1970s tried to remove stucco decorations that covered the original Romanesque and gothic architecture.
The interior has a number of artworks that covered the ceiling and altars. The Chapel of the Sacred Heart, once of St Cajetan (Gaetano) had a canvas of the saint painted by Vaccaro. The Cappellone dell'Immacolata was decorated in the 18th century. The sacristy has a large venerated icon depicting St Oronzo. One Chapel is dedicated to the patron saints of Ostuni: St Biagio, St Augustine, St Oronzo, and Ste Irene. The church once had, now stolen, a canvas of Santa Lucia by Palma il Giovane. The apse has an altarpiece of the Assunta, and the chapel of Santa Maria della Sanità, has a frescoe depicting Saint Catherine of Alexandria. A niche of the counter-facade has a 15th-century statue of Christ.[1]
The churches archives hold nearly 200 parchments dating to the 12th-century. In 1986, it became co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni, and in 2011, it was elevated to minor basilica.