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Messina in Sicilia - The Cathedral

The church was originally built in Norman times, but only in 1197, in a ceremony presided over by Henry VI of Swabia ( the father of Frederick II, who lived and was buried in Messina), was it dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Nothing of the Norman construction remains today except the general layout and the overall exterior appearance which, after the 1908 earthquake, the architect Valenti reconstructed on the basis of ancient documents. Since at least the 14th century the Cathedral has undergone various structural changes. Guidotto de Tabiatis, the bishop whose tomb, sculpted by Goro di Gregorio in 1333, can be admired in the transept- ordered the construction of an additional section, along the south front of the cathedral, decorated with blach and white stone bands and beautiful mullioned windows. The 14th century also saw the addition of the baptisimal font by Florentine Gaddo Gaddi and the mosaics in the vaults of the apses. These depict, from south to north: St Giovanni between St Nicola and St Basilio; Christ Pantocrator; and the Virgin and Child between, Archangels, St Lucia and St Agata. The three portals of the Cathedral facade, with their elaborate decorations in polycrome bands and sculpted features, date from the same period. The central portal is by Baboccio da Piperno and shows figures of kings and saints, cherubs intently observing a mystic harvest, heraldic devices and symbols of the Evangelists. The triangular gable with God the Father at the top and a tondo depicting Christ crowning the Virgin were added in 1468 by Pietro di Bonate. The statue of Madonna and Child, in the lunette of the portal, is from 1534, and is the work of Giovambattista Mazzeo.

The 16th century saw radical intervention also inside the buiding: Montorsoli designed a marble inlay floor and the arrangement, along the walls of the side naves, representing the Apostolate. The sculptor from Carrara, Andrea Calamech, sculpted the marble pulpit, and Jacopo Lo Duca built the chapel of the Sacrament in the north apse. The canopy in wood and copper and the high altar in mixed marble act as a kind of theatrical device to focus attention on the painting of the Madonna della Lettera (patron saint of Messina), and date bach to the 17th century. The altar, designed by Simone Gulli - who was also responsible for a unique series of buildings along the port known as the "Maritime Theatre", was begun in 1628 and finished at the end of the 18th century. A large number of artists collaborated on its construction, including the great goldsmiths of the Juvarra family, who also made the other altar, in silver and gold, built into the modern one at the centre of the transept, depicting the Virgin handing over her letter to the ambassadors of Messina. In 1930, the Cathedral became home to what is the largest organ in Italy and the third largest in Europe: 5 keyboards, 170 stops, 16000 pipes arranged in both sides of the transept, behind the altar, above the main portal and above the triumphal arch.

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