Cathedral of San Chetteo (Cattedrale di San Cetteo Vescovo e Martire) description and photos - Italy: Pescara (Topic)

Cathedral of San Cetteo (Cattedrale di San Cetteo Vescovo e Martire) description and photos - Italy: Pescara. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Cattedrale di San Cetteo Vescovo e Martire.

Photo and description

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 a few fragments of the building have survived. Gabriele d'Annunzio actively advocated the beginning of the construction of a new cathedral, a native of Pescara and one of the most prominent poets in Italy. 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. It also partially repeats the appearance of the 11th century church of Santa Jerusalemme. Typical is the austere rectangular facade 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 of the cathedral is 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 chapels, separated from each other by arcades with marble columns. The choirs end in the apse. In one of the 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 an arch-shaped tombstone 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. The organ, which is considered one of the best in Abruzzo, deserves special attention.

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Topic: Cathedral of San Chetteo (Cattedrale di San Cetteo Vescovo e Martire) description and photos - Italy: Pescara.