Lucera Cathedral

Lucera Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Lucera; Basilica cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta di Lucera; also popularly Santa Maria della Vittoria) is the cathedral of Lucera, Apulia, Italy. The dedication is to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary but it is also popularly known as Santa Maria della Vittoria from the statue of the Madonna kept here. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lucera-Troia (previously of the Bishops of Lucera), and is also a minor basilica. In its present form it originates mostly from the 14th century. It is one of the very few buildings in Apulia in which the Gothic architectural style of the medieval French rulers appears almost unaltered.

The church is located in the historical town centre of Lucera, on the Piazza del Duomo. The dedication, to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, refers to a small gilded wooden statue of the Virgin of the late 14th century, which has the nickname Madonna della vittoria ("Madonna of Victory"), because it is said to commemorate the victory of the Anjou dynasty over the Hohenstaufen in Southern Italy.

The present church stands on the site of an older one, that in the time of Emperor Frederick II was turned into a mosque for the use of the Saracens from Sicily who had been resettled in the nearby Lucera Castle and retained their Islamic belief, from whom Frederick formed his bodyguard.

After the massacre or enslavement of most of the Saracens in 1300 under Charles II of Naples the mosque was destroyed. Charles ordered a new church (the present cathedral) to be built on the site, probably under the supervision of the master builder Pierre d'Agincourt. Construction was completed by 1317.

...
Wikipedia