| Genoa Cathedral Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Lorenzo | |
|---|---|
 West front of Genoa Cathedral. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| Province | Archdiocese of Genoa |
| Year consecrated | 1118 |
| Location | |
| Location | Genoa,Italy |
 Interactive map of Genoa Cathedral Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Lorenzo | |
| Coordinates | 44°24′26.92″N8°55′53.83″E / 44.4074778°N 8.9316194°E /44.4074778; 8.9316194 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1110 |
| Completed | 17th century |
Genoa Cathedral orMetropolitan Cathedral of Saint Lawrence (Italian:Duomo di Genova,Cattedrale di San Lorenzo) is aRoman Catholiccathedral in theItalian city ofGenoa. It is dedicated toSaint Lawrence (San Lorenzo), and is the seat of theArchbishop of Genoa. The cathedral was consecrated byPope Gelasius II in 1118 and was built between the twelfth century and the fourteenth century as fundamentally a medieval building, with some later additions. Secondary naves and side covers are ofRomanesque style and the main facade isGothic from the early thirteenth century, while capitals and columns with interior corridors date from the early fourteenth century. The bell tower and dome were built in the sixteenth century.
Excavations under the pavement and in the area in front of today's west front have brought to light walls and pavements of Roman age as well as pre-Christiansarcophagi, suggesting the existence of a burial ground in the site. Later a church devoted to theTwelve Apostles was built, which was in turn flanked and replaced by a new cathedral dedicated toSaint Lawrence, in Romanesque style. Money came from the successful enterprises of the Genoese fleets in theCrusades.
The first cathedral, now thebasilica of St. Syrus, was founded probably in the 5th or 6th century AD, devoted toSaint Syrus,bishop of Genoa. The transferring of the cathedral favored the urbanization of the zone that, with the construction of its walls in 1155, and the fusion of the three ancient city nuclei (castrum,civitas andburgus), became the heart of the city. The piazza, in the absence of other public squares and centers of lay power, was the city's only public space for the whole of theMiddle Ages. The cathedral was consecrated byPope Gelasius II in 1118, and from 1133 had archiepiscopal rank. After the fire of 1296, provoked by fights betweenGuelphs and Ghibellines, the building was partly restored and partly rebuilt. Between 1307 and 1312 the façade was completed, the inner colonnades rebuilt with capitals andmatronei added. The Romanesque structures remained pretty untouched, and frescoes of religious subject were also added.
Various altars and chapels have been erected between the 14th and 15th centuries. The small loggia on the north-eastern tower of the façade was built in 1455; the opposite one, inMannerist style, is from 1522. In 1550 the Perugian architectGaleazzo Alessi was commissioned by the city magistrates to plan the reconstruction of the entire building; however, he executed only the covering of the nave and aisles, the pavement, the dome and the apse.
The construction of the cathedral finished in the 17th century. The dome and the medieval parts were restored in 1894–1900. The present 7 bells are tuned in the major scale of C.
Among the artworks inside the church are ceiling frescoes in a chapel on the north byLuca Cambiaso; aCrucifixion with Saints (St. Sebastian's Vision) byBarocci; in front of the organ is anEpisode from the life of St. Lawrence byGiovanni Andrea Ansaldo; the ceiling fresco in the presbytery of theMartyrdom of St Lawrence was painted byLazzaro Tavarone; and anAssumption of the Virgin (1914) byGaetano Previati. The church also contains 14th-century frescoes in the Byzantine style in the main portal. Sculptural works include a statue in the chapel of St. John byDomenico Gagini; aVirgin and aSt. John the Baptist byAndrea Sansovino. Other works include works byMatteo Civitali,Taddeo Carlone, andGiacomo andGuglielmo Della Porta .
The Museum of the Treasury lies under the cathedral and holds a collection of jewellery and silverware from 9 AD up to the present. Among the most important pieces are theSacro Catino brought byGuglielmo Embriaco after the conquest ofCaesarea and supposed to be the chalice used by Christ during the Last Supper; the Cassa Processionale del Corpus Domini; and the Zaccaria Cross, a Byzantine reliquary that holds supposed relics of the True Cross. Dating back to the 9th and 13th centuries, it was originally part of the treasure of thearchbishops of Ephesus and was later brought back to Genoa by theZaccaria family, who donated it to the cathedral.[1][2][3]
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The cathedral had a fortunate escape on February 9, 1941, when the city was being shelled as part ofOperation Grog. Because of a crew error the British battleshipHMS Malaya fired a 381 mm (15.0 in) armour-piercingshell into the south-eastern corner of the nave. The relatively soft material failed to detonate thefuse and the shell is still there.[4]
The inscription, which gives thanks for the cathedral's escape reads:
QUESTA BOMBA LANCIATA DALLA FLOTTA INGLESE PUR SFONDANDO LE PARETI DI QUESTA INSIGNE CATTEDRALE QUI CADEVA INESPLOSA IL IX FEBBRAIO MCMXLI
A RICONOSCENZA PERENNE GENOVA CITTÀ DI MARIA VOLLE INCISA IN PIETRA LA MEMORIA DI TANTA GRAZIA
(This bomb, launched by the British Navy, though breaking through the walls of this great cathedral, fell here unexploded on February 9, 1941.In perpetual gratitude, Genoa, the City of Mary, desired to engrave in stone, the memory of such grace.)
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