Description of the attraction
The Cathedral is the largest church in the Lombard city of Pavia. Its construction began in the 15th century on the site of two Romanesque cathedrals (Santo Stefano and Santa Maria del Popolo) and is still considered unfinished. Inside are the relics of Saint Syrus, the first bishop of Pavia, and the Torre Civica tower once stood nearby, which collapsed in 1989.
The construction of the cathedral began in 1488 by the architect Cristoforo Rocchi, who was soon replaced by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo and Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono. The original design with a central nave and two side chapels framed by semicircular niches and a huge dome was influenced by Bramante's ideas, and some of the details were inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is also known that the great Leonardo da Vinci contributed to the creation of the project of the cathedral.
In 1521, Leonardo's students completed work on the altar part of the cathedral. In the 17th century, the presbytery was completed, but only in the next century was the vestibule of the dome erected, and the dome and the facade were made in the 19th century. The dome, designed by Carlo Machachini, was completed in 1885, but partially collapsed the same year. In 1930, the construction of the transept of the cathedral continued (according to the original design, but using reinforced concrete structures).
Inside, the Cathedral of Pavia is made in the form of a Greek cross - this is one of the largest buildings in central northern Italy. The octagonal dome rises to the sky to a height of 97 meters and weighs about 20 thousand tons. It is the fourth largest in Italy after the domes of St. Peter's in Rome, the Pantheon and the Cathedral of Florence.
