Teatro
Marruccino
Chieti's
cathedral,
is the pride of the town. It stands in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and
it is reputed to stand on the site of a temple of Hercules. The architectural
restorations have not always come off well, and its vicissitudes have followed
those of the town.There are some splendid treasures preserved here, about
whic more later.Before Chieti was put to fire and the sword by Pepin the
Short, the church was dedicated to St thomas. It was restored around 84O
by Bishop Theodoric. Around 1000 the townspeople, terrified by the arrival
of the Saracens, found refuge in the cript. The consecration to St Justin
took place under the Bishop Attone and the Saint's body was laid here around
1432. The chapel was gradually enriched with ornaments and goldsmiths'
work: Archbishop Peruzzi decorated it with gold and marble. Monsignor Colantonio
Valignani donated a gold chalic of incomparable artistry. In 1590 an earthquake
destroyed much of the cathedral. The archbishop had to start from scratch:
Matteo Samminiati was the first to get the work underway. The church was
enriched with a porphyry baptistery and more gold and marble decorations.
The work was continued by the Archbishop Brancia and in 1770 Archbishop
Del Giudice decided on a complete restorations. The threeaisled church
contains nine altars, not counting those in the chapel of the Sacramento.
In front of the high altar, a sculpted marble frontal depicts scenes from
the life of St Justin and St Thomas. The church was austere, elemental.
Archbishop Ruffo Scilla did not like it though, and in 1877 he decided
to lay a heavy hand to it: thus the Baroque style triumphed. The facade
was redone, the paintings in the sacristy were painted over, the organ
was removed from the wall in front of the high altar and a huge gilded
frame replaced it. In the cript,reached via two flights of steps, are decorations
and arabesques, paintings and sculptures, as well as the tombs of almost
all the bishops and archbishops who served here. Monsignor Scilla did not
like the crypt either, and the baroque triumphed here too, taking over
from the simple lines of the original. The cathedral has a magnificent
treasure, including a gided silver chalice of the Venetian school, while
a fine silver statue of St Justine by Nicola Gallucci from Guardiagrele
was stolen and is replaced by a copy. Also notable are two missals: one
was illuminated by Theodorus of Ortona in the XI century ; the other
belonged to Giovanni Borgia, nephew of Alexander VI, and was presented
to the cathedral by Guido de Medici.
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