Architecturally, the Cathedral of Andria is divided into one nave and two aisles. The baroque chapel of Saint Richard, also known as the ‘cappellone’, was built in the XV century and is home to bas-reliefs and panels sculpted on the pillars and portraying the life and works of the Saint. On the right of the presbytery stands the chapel dedicated to the Holy Thorn of the Crown of Our Lord Jesus Christ, donated to the city by countess Beatrice of Anjou when she married Beltrando del Balzo, lord of Andria. This Chapel leads to the crypt, an ancient early Christian church (not earlier than the VII-X century) with two aisles and cross vaults, housing the remains of the wives of Frederick II of Swabia. The belfry stands on a VII-VIII century Lombard tower. It is massive in scale, pointing at the sky with an octagonal spire, on which a copper cock makes a fine show. Outside, the building has a neoclassical arcade, which was added to the original construction.
A Brief History:
The church was built in the XII century by the Normans on the earlier Chiesetta del S.S. Salvatore o di S. Pietro, which is now the crypt. In 1350 it was destroyed during the attack of a mercenary army against the city, but it was rebuilt by the Del Balzo family one century later. The building was altered again in the XVII and XVIII centuries and in the mid-twentieth century.
Main Works:
Remarkably valuable are the golden reliquary on the altar and the two XIX-century paintings by Michele De Napoli.
Style:
The original style of the cathedral was Norman. Restorations and alterations, the latest in 1965, have given it a late Gothic appearance.
Sources: By the editorial staff Updated on: 09/09/2011
Project created in collaboration with InnovaPuglia.
Regione Puglia
Regione Puglia