Co-cathedral Basilica of Maria Santissima di Romania

The Norman face of a broader artistic history

Probably founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 12th, the co-cathedral stands on the site of a pre-existing Byzantine structure, on the northern part of the Tropea cliff, previously occupied by an early Christian cemetery, around which the medieval center of the city grew. 

Its current appearance was strongly influenced by stylistic restorations in the early twentieth century, which removed most of the changes to the architectural structure introduced in the modern age that are poorly documented in the sources. The two consecrations of the cathedral in 1496 and 1576 probably document the completion of some renovation work. 

On the main front, the door with a false arched prothyrum is surmounted by a sixteenth-century oculus, which illuminates the internal space. 

The basilica plan with three naves is punctuated by pointed arches of different widths. To the side of the right nave there are numerous chapels, which house tombs and monuments created on the initiative of representatives of the city's political and cultural elite. 

Among these rooms, the Greek cross chapel stands out. With access close to the presbytery, it is dedicated first to Santa Domenica, then to the Blessed Sacrament, and was rebuilt in the early eighteenth century. The seventeenth-century construction of the bell tower was followed, at the end of the following century, by a series of works to update the basilica’s aesthetics. 

After the earthquake of 1783, numerous restorations became necessary. However they were overcome by the radical restoration that followed the earthquakes of 1905 and 1908, which saw the reconfiguration of the three apses of the choir, to a new profile and greater depth.