Description of the attraction
Reggio di Calabria Cathedral, 94 meters long, 22 meters wide and 21 meters high, is the largest religious building in Calabria. Throughout its history, the cathedral has undergone a number of significant changes, since it was originally built in the form of a Latin cross, then, during the years of Norman rule, it was rebuilt into a Greco-Byzantine church and, finally, again into a Latin one. To this should be added several rebuildings after major earthquakes, wars and raids and the last reconstruction after the 1908 earthquake. At the initiative of Bishop Rinaldo Camilo Rousse, the reconstruction began in July 1917 and lasted until 1928. In the same year, the restored cathedral was consecrated anew in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the final construction work was completed in 1929 with the commissioning of the bell tower. In 1978, the cathedral received the status of a minor basilica.
There is a square in front of the cathedral, to which a 10-meter flight of stairs leads with statues of Saints Peter and Paul on the left and St. Stephen on the right. The main façade is divided into three parts, and its main attraction is three bronze portals. In the interior of the cathedral, colored stained-glass windows are especially prominent, thanks to which the church is well lit. The three aisles are separated from each other by three rows of marble columns. The presbytery, connected to the main hall of the cathedral by a large flight of stairs, ends with a polygonal apse. Here you can see a wooden choir from 1926 and a wooden crucifix dating from the 17th-19th centuries. Also inside the cathedral are sarcophagi of some local bishops of the 5-6th centuries. Among the works of art that adorn the church, it is worth highlighting the pulpit and medallion by Francesco Gerace, the throne, two pulpits and two fonts of the Concesso Barca, a marble altar with bronze bas-reliefs by Antonio Berti and a number of paintings from the 19th century. Ornaments that adorn the walls, transept, vaults and apse of the cathedral are no less valuable.
