Description of the attraction
Santa Maria Annunchata is Vicenza's cathedral, whose grandiose dome was designed by Andrea Palladio (he was probably the author of the north side door).
It is believed that the very first church that stood on this site bore the name of the Great Martyr Saint Eufemia, especially revered in Vicenza, whose relics are still kept inside the cathedral. Probably in the 6th century, the first renaming of the temple took place, which became known as Santa Maria. This was due to the fact that soon after the Third Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church was held in 431, at which the dogma of the Blessed Virgin Mary was proclaimed, many churches were renamed in her honor. First of all, this applied to the main religious building of the city - the cathedral. And later, probably between the 7th and 8th centuries, the prefix Annunchata was added to the name Santa Maria, since it was at that time that the feast of the Annunciation (L'Annunciazione) became widespread.
In 1467, the sculptor Pietro Lombardo from Karona was commissioned to make the tombstone of Battista Fiocardo, which is now walled up in the wall of the cathedral, and in 1468 - the tombstone of Alberto Fiocardo, brother of Battista, the local archdeacon.
The construction of the cathedral's apse was started in 1482 according to the project of Lorenzo da Bologna, but by 1531 it remained unfinished. The first temporary roof was erected in 1540, as it was assumed that Vicenza would host the Cathedral of Trent (later moved to Trento). Only in 1557, the Vicenza commune was able to obtain funds from the Republic of Venice to complete the construction of the cathedral. Andrea Palladio was appointed responsible for the execution of the work, who probably was the author of the design of the entire religious complex. The construction proceeded in two stages: in 1558-59, a cornice was installed over the windows and the drum of the dome was made, and the dome itself was erected in 1564-66. Shaped like a lantern and devoid of decorations, it later served as the model for the dome of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.
In 1560, Paolo Almerico asked permission from the head of the cathedral to build at his own expense the northern portal of the church in the likeness of the chapel of San Giovanni Evangelista. We are talking about the same Paolo Almerico, who, a few years later, will commission Andrea Palladio to build the famous Villa La Rotonda. The portal was completed in 1565. Its authorship is attributed to the same Palladio, although no documents confirming this or personal sketches of the architect have survived. Historical scholars rely on the similarity of the cathedral's portal with the ancient examples well known to Palladio, and with the side portals of the Cathedral of San Pietro di Castello in Venice, on which Palladio worked in 1558.
During the Second World War, Santa Maria Annunchata was seriously damaged during the bombing of the city by American troops. Only the façade has survived. The destroyed parts of the cathedral, including the Palladian dome, have been reconstructed, but the priceless frescoes that adorned its interior have been lost forever. Next to the cathedral is the Diocesan Museum, which houses various exhibits related to the history of Santa Maria Annunchata.
