Foligno Cathedral

Foligno Cathedral (Italian: Basilica Cattedrale di San Feliciano; Duomo di Foligno) is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on the Piazza della Repubblica in the center of Foligno, Italy. The cathedral, built on the site of an earlier basilica, is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, the martyr Felician of Foligno (San Feliciano), who was buried here in 251 AD. It is the seat of the Bishop of Foligno.

The church was built in Romanesque style in the period 1133-1201. Bishop Marco began the construction in 1133. The renewed church was consecrated in 1149 by Cardinal Giulio di San Marcello.

The cathedral has two façades, the principal façade, or west front, facing the Piazza Grande, and the secondary façade facing the Piazza della Repubblica. The north transept and the secondary façade were commissioned in 1204 by Bishop Anselmo degli Atti, as attested by an inscription on the façade. The south transept was opened in 1513, giving the church its present Latin cross configuration.

The principal façade was built in 1133, soon after Foligno had become a bishop. The upper tympanum is an addition from the 16th century. This façade was restored in 1904, when the mosaic in the tympanum, made in the workshop of the Vatican, was added. It shows Christ enthroned between Saints Felician and Messalina, with Pope Leo XIII, who had commissioned the mosaic, praying on his knees. The corners of the square around the rose window are decorated with the evangelistic symbols. The bronze door is flanked by two stone lions.

The secondary façade on the Piazza della Repubblica dates from 1201. It was commissioned by bishop Anselmo and is the work of the sculptors and architects Rodolfo and Binello. The upper part was finished by Ugolino III Trinci in the 14th century. It was enlarged in the 15th century and restored to something resembling the original in 1904 by the architect Vincenzo Benvenuti. It has multiple arches and three rose windows, of which the centre one, with its double pillars on the outside and twisted pillars on the inside, is among the most beautiful in Umbria. The two stone griffins underneath were sculpted to commemorate the victory of Foligno over Perugia. The carved wooden door is surrounded by five Romanesque arches decorated with bas-reliefs, representing Frederick Barbarossa and Pope Innocent III. The innermost arch is decorated with the signs of the zodiac, the stars, the sun, the moon, the hours and the attributes of the Four Evangelists. An inscription in the keystone of the upper arch says that "the stars, the sun, and the moon revealed a time of purity”. A new epoch of harmony was expected to begin between the Church and the Holy Roman Empire, as Pope Innocent III had just recognized Otto of Brunswick as Emperor Otto IV of the Holy Roman Empire.

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