Art and religion - Cathedral of Saint Lorenzo

Cathedral of Saint Lorenzo

A prior church (936-1060), corrisponding to the actual transept, has been extended on plans of Fra Bevignate in 1300; 1345 the foundation stone has been laid for a new building which was begun in 1437-39 and finished, at least inside, towards the end of the same century.

The construction works however continued until 1587 without ever coming to an end. The unfinished look of the church is more then evident.

Only on the side front facing the Fontana Maggiore and only up to a limited height the external wall has been covered with a rose and white marble decoration which had been stolen from the cathedral of Arezzo in 1335.

Piazza IV Novembre

Then there are Gothic windows, a pulpit, assembled in the 14th century using antique pieces (some Cosmatesque as well), from where St. Bernardine of Siena preached in 1425 and in 1427, the Mannerist portal designed by Galeazzo Alessi and sculptured by Ludovico Scalza (1568) which has been transferred from the formerly nearby Collegio del Seminario, the bronze statue of Julius III (Vincenzo Danti, 1555), put up in honour of the pope who reintroduced the town rights , previously cancelled by Paul III in 1540, and the Renaissance loggia of the 15th century added by Braccio di Fortebraccio da Montone to his residence during his seignory. The main façade, although it does not look like one having never been finished, has a portal created by Pietro Carattoli in 1729.

The inside of late Gothic structure has three aisles of equal height, divided by octagonal pillars and vaulted by crossbows, and has been modified in the 18th century adding stuccoes and decorations, such as the false marble of the columns and of the altar and the paintings of the vaults.

Cathedral of Saint Lorenzo

Noteworthy are: in the chapel of St. Bernardin the 'Deposizione dalla Croce' by Federico Barocci (1567-69) and in the apse the wooden choir by Giuliano da Maiano and Domenico del Tasso (1491), partly burned in a fire in 1985.

Here you find as well the bishop’s throne created by Ciancio di Pierfrancesco of Perugia on a design by Rocco di Tommaso (1520-24). Probably the most famous bishop of Perugia has been Count Gioacchino Pecci, bishop from 1846 to 1878, the year he has been elected pope under the name of Leo XIII, to whom is dedicated the statue by Giuseppe Lucchetti (1892) placed in the right transept.

The chapel on the right side of the presbitery leads to the sacristy, decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi of Pesaro (1572-78) and furniture of 1494-97 by Mariotto di Paolo da Gubbio.

From here, you may enter the the Cloister of the Parsonage (Chiostro della Canonica), where five Conclaves were held in the years 1216, 1265, 1285, 1294 and 1305.

The Museo Capitolare, a few steps from the cloister, keeps, among others, a 'Pietà' by Bartolomeo Caporali (1486), an altar-piece with a 'Madonna in trono' by Luca Signorelli (1484) and a triptych by Meo di Guido da Siena (early 14th century). The museum is actually closed for rearrangement works.