Padua Cathedral

Padua Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Padova; Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica in Padua, northern Italy. The cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is the seat of the bishop of Padua.

It is the third structure built on the same site. The first one was erected after the Edict of Milan in 313 and destroyed by an earthquake on 3 January 1117. It was rebuilt in Romanesque style: the appearance of the medieval church can be seen in the frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi in the adjoining baptistery.

The design of the existing cathedral is sometimes attributed to Michelangelo, but in fact it was the work of Andrea della Valle and Agostino Righetto, and has much in common with earlier Paduan churches. Although construction work began on the new Renaissance building in 1551, it was only completed in 1754, leaving the façade unfinished.

The Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is the main place of Catholic worship in Padua and the seat of a bishop of the diocese since the fourth century. The cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, has the dignity of minor basilica. It is also a parish center and allows for veneration of the bodies of San Daniele, San Leonino and San Gregorio Barbarigo. The current building dates from the sixteenth century and its construction involved Michelangelo Buonarroti. It is located on the east side of the Piazza Duomo next to the Bishop's Palace.

Tradition says that the first cathedral was built after the Edict of Constantine. A pillar of stone surmounted by a cross marks its location in the current churchyard. It was dedicated to Santa Giustina. During a restoration (ca 462 or 602) the Episcopal see of Patavium was joined Santa Maria. Bishop Tricidio restored the cathedral in 620 and it was again rebuilt between 899 A and 900 because of a fire. In 1075 the Bishop Olderico consecrated the new cathedral on the ruins of the previous church. For this last step construction, historians between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries supposes a facade building located to the east, with a confession and a crypt under the apse where bishop Tricidio is buried. His tombstone was discovered during the excavation of the foundations. This basilica collapsed during the January 3, 1117 earthquake.

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