Co-Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta

An extraordinary point of convergence and a wonderful synthesis between Latin Catholicism and Greek Christianity

The cathedral was founded in the Norman period between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century, on a pre-existing and more modest Byzantine church located at the level of the crypt. It was restored after an earthquake and reconsecrated when Frederick II passed by. During the thirteenth century a chapel dedicated to the Madonna dell'Itria was constructed in its hypogeum. 

The dedication to Saint Mary the Virgin is documented for the first time during the episcopate of the famous scholar and philosopher Barlaam of Seminara, who was Francesco Petrarca's Greek teacher. In the first half of the fifteenth century the church was affected by significant transformations in the presbytery, with an extension of the choir and the construction of the chapel of San Giovanni Battista, dedicated in the following century to the Blessed Sacrament. 

Starting at the same time in the 15th century, numerous tombs and shrines of the families of the urban and feudal aristocracy were created in the building. 

In the sixteenth century numerous changes were undertaken, including the renovation of the choir and sacristy, to adapt them to Tridentine standards. The construction of the access staircase to the crypt located in the left arm of the transept dates back to the seventeenth century. 

The continuous restorations made necessary by the numerous earthquakes were also accompanied by significant changes, such as the opening of the baroque gate that gives access to the crypt from Piazza Tribuna. Following the earthquake of 1783, significant parts of the building were reconstructed, such as the choir and the vaults.