Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of San Chetteo is the main church of Pescara, located on Via D'Annunzio. The cathedral is dedicated to the great martyr Saint Chetteo, the patron saint of the city and his bishop. Since 1982, he has been the chair of the Diocese of Pescara-Penne. The current neo-Romanesque cathedral, originally called the Temple of Reconciliation, was built in the 1930s on the site of the medieval church of San Chetteo.
The construction of the new cathedral took place during the construction boom caused by the creation in 1927 of the unified Pescara and the province of the same name. By that time, the medieval church of San Chetteo had fallen into disrepair, and it was decided to demolish it. Only some fragments of the building have survived. Gabriele d'Annunzio, a native of Pescara and one of the most prominent poets of Italy, actively advocated the beginning of the construction of the new cathedral. He was once baptized in the old temple. And he generously sponsored the construction of a new one, because he wanted his mother to rest in it. The construction work, which lasted from 1933 to 1938, was headed by the architect Cesare Bazzani. The facade of the cathedral was rebuilt after the Second World War.
Initially, the church was called the Temple of Reconciliation - Tempio della Conchiliazione, which is traditionally associated with the Lateran agreements concluded in 1929 between the fascist government of Italy and the Vatican. And in 1949, the church was proclaimed a cathedral.
Despite the fact that the building of the cathedral is modern, it clearly shows the influence of the architectural traditions of Abruzzo, especially the Romanesque style. In part, it also repeats the appearance of the 11th century church of Santa Jerusalemme. Typical is the austere rectangular façade decorated with a round rosette window - this was the choice of the architect and D'Annunzio. Portals with round arches reflect the internal division of the church into three aisles. On the north side, the cathedral is adjoined by a bell tower, consisting of an octagonal upper floor resting on a square base. A small baptistery was built on the south side.
Inside the cathedral, as mentioned above, consists of three side-chapels, separated from each other by arcades with marble columns. The choirs end in the apse. In one of the side-chapels of the cathedral there is the chapel of San Chetteo, and in the other - the grave of D'Annunzio's mother, Louise de Benedictis, for whom the sculptor Arrigo Minerbi created a tombstone in the form of an arch with a reclining figure of a young woman. The interior of the cathedral is decorated with various icons and images of saints from the 17th century. Particularly noteworthy is the organ, which is considered one of the best in Abruzzo.
