Spoleto Cathedral

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta houses some magnificent artworks.  In front of the Carthedral is a large piazza which forms a large stage backed by the church.  The building is predominantly 12th century, incorporating some Roman materials, especially in the bell tower, and the portico was added during the renaissance.  Above the portico is a mosaic of Christ.

To the right of the church is a carved Roman sarcophagus and to the left is a large brass bell dedicated to John the Baptist in 1744.














Once inside the cathedral it's hard to know where to look.  The walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes and paintings predominantly from the 15th-17th centuries.  There are several chapels which are also heavily decorated.  We both took heaps of photos and it was hard to select just a few to put in this blog.  The cathedral was being prepared for a wedding later in the day.

 One apse was decorated with ornate wood carving with paintings of saints within the wooden panels.  Even the floor was decorated with marble tiles forming many different patterns.  A crypt in the cathedral dates from the 9th century and it is the only surviving part of the original layout of the cathedral.  The cathedral has one of two surviving original letters written by St Francis of Assissi.  The cathedral in nearby Assissi has the other letter.