St. Peter Cathedral

 St.Peter Cathedral  is the main place of workship in Treviso and the seat of the local diocese The cathedral, dedicated to St.Peter Apostole overlooks the square.

HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL

-The church originates in the 6th century AD, in the area where once there were a temple, a theatre and, perhaps, some baths .

- It was the first Church  dedicated to St.Peter. .

The Church was rebuilt and restored during the Lombard period under the bishopric of  Felice    (6th century A.D.), he was the first bishop historically verified, close friend of Fortunato Venanzio, an important Christian poet, historian  and bishop of Poiters , born in the province of Treviso .

-After the 1100s, the bishop Rotario restored the cathedral and the palaces of the bishop’s court. The Church was remodelled in Romanesque style, but  only the iconographic draft shows how it was the product of the fusion between the Roman culture and Byzantine heritage.

-Because of its non uniform aspect and its battered structures, in  1768 it was demolished and rebuilt in Neoclassicist style by  Giordano Riccati, who joined the new structure with the absidal chapels and the crypt, that remained the same as the previous edifice.This renovation brought to the destruction of many paintings, sculptures, funerary monuments and also to the most serious loss of the historical and artistic legacy of the city. In 1836 the façade was completed with the monumental and neoclassical pronaos.   

STRUCTURE

-Exterior

The cathedral is characterized by seven domes, five of them placed above the central aisle and the other two that  closed the chapels. They form one of the most characteristic features of the urban landscape with their color volumes of copper and lead along with  the huge lanterns on top.

At the sides of the stairways there are two lions of red marble, who supported the prothyron of the Romanesque edifice.

Outside the cathedral there are  signs l from all eras: a  significant Roman bas-relief of Bacchae, "recovered" outside the main chapel of the fifteenth century,( despite the profane subject ), the small windows of the crypt and the wall with pilasters and arches of the Romanesque building; the exterior clad in white Istrian stone of pure Renaissance style.

 

- Inside

The inside of the church presents three aisle,with lateral chapels and three final apsis. Above them there is the ancient crypt with the bishop' grave of the city. In the temple  the St martyres Teonisto, Tabra and Tabrata are buried.

 In the altar near the "Santissimo Sacramento"chapel are conserved the remains of the bishop Andrea Giacinto Longhin, who was moved from the crypt because of his beatification. Meanwhile near the first altar in cornu Epistulae is placed the grave of the blessed Arrigo da Bolzano, who died in Treviso in 1315. In the same altar where Longhin is buried, are located the grave of Parisio, friar ,who died in Treviso in 1267.

The inside presents a neo-Renaissance architecture, created by Giordano Riccati reclaiming: particolar  mouldings and proportions of the main chapel , erected at the end of the 400 by Pietro Lombardo,united by the other two minor absidal chapels of the blessed and the Annunziate and by the underlying Romanesque crypt. The architectural result could seem too much stiff, especially for the concordance of building supplies on the white marble surface . The place is caracterized by an original articulation of the areas, widened ed by seven domes and five of them are placed along the central aisle.

-Aisles

In the aisles there are a lot of works of art:the most important are the altar piece of St. Giustina, painted by Francisco Bissoloin 1530, portraying St. Giustina among San Giovanni Battisti, St Catherine of Alexandria and a benefactor. Inside  the second pillar in the left aisle there is the Madonna with the child statua, made by Lorenzo Bregno, that represents the Visitation.

-Main altar

At the center there is the main altar and behind it there  is a chancel with some decorations like the absidal bowl-shaped that represents the Immaculate made by Antonio Beni.

The altar consacrated by the bishop Paolo Magnani in 1999,is formed by the ancient sarcophagus that contained the grave of Arrigo da Bolzano.

The absidal complex is made by Pietro Lombardo and his son, authors of the old altar, that contained the grave of Teonisto , Tabra and Tabrata, and also of the monument of the bishop Giovanni Dacre,also Known as Zanetto, placed on the left wall.

In front of this there is another monument dedicated to  pope Alessandro XIII Ottoloni, Baroque work of Giovanni Bonazza.

-Chapel

 Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament:

In the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament (XVI century), at the end of the left  aisle and on the right of the main altar there is the grave of the bishop Nicolo Franco (XV century), who, with the aid of Franciscan friars , founded  the Monte di  Pieta' .

In the vestibule there are the weapons of the bishop Bernardo de' Rossi, who commissioned  the chapel to M.Antonio and Pietro Tajapria between  1501 and 1514. The sepulchre of the bishop Nicolo Franco is remarkable for its decorations in the style of Renaissance, it was sculptured  in 1501.

In the apse is situated the fresco 'Pantocratore' of Pier Maria Pennacchi and in the plumes of the dome, the work of Lorenzo Bregno rapresents the four evangelists

-Chapel of Malchiostro Annunciation

At the end of the right aisle and on the left of the main altar there is the chapel of Malchiostro.

This chapel is preceded by a small vestibule that is higher than the level of the church. Here there are some outstanding works:  the 'Adoration of the Pastors' (l'Adorazione dei Pastori) and 'Altar piece of Holy Lorenzo' (Pala di San Lorenzo) of Paris Bordone, the 'Madonna of the flower' (Madonna del fiore) of Girolamo of Treviso and the 'Assumption of th Virgin' (Assunzione della Vergine)  of Domenico Capriolo.

On the right wall of the vestibule you can see the sarcophagus of the  bishop Castellano Salomone,

that is dated to 1322 and done by an artist from Venice who was strongly influnced by the Tuscan style.

The chapel of Malchiostro is dated to 1520 and war commissioned by Broccardo Malchiostro, the secratary of the bishop Bernardo de Rossi.

The chapel was planned by Tullio and Antonio Lombardo;it has a Renaissance style as a matter of fact there is a square structure with a cupola.

The paintings were committed  to the two modern painters of the XVI century: Pordenone and Tiziano. Therefore the final result is one of the main set  of paintings in Renaissance style in Veneto.

Tiziano painted the first 'Altar piece of  Annunciation' (Pala dell'Annunciazione).

Pordenone painted the walls of the chapel. His works are:

-Worship of the Magi (l'Adorazione dei Magi), located on the left wall

-The Visitation (la Visitazione) that is above the previous painting and according to the legend, it was realized in only one day.

-The Dream of Augusto (il Sogno di Augusto), that is situated in the basin of the apse and is was ruined during a bombing in 1944.

-The Eternal Father (il Padre Eterno), even if it was totally ruined during the bombing.

-Saints and Doctors of Church (Santi e Dottori della Chiesa).



Malchiostro Annunciation

   

Malchiostro Annunciation is a painting by the Renaissance artist Tiziano, dated about 1520 and preserved in the Cathedral of Treviso. The oil painting was commissioned by Broccardo Malchiostro, secretary of the bishop Bernardo de Rossi, to be placed on the left of the main altar in the Malchiostro Chapel.

With this painting the author revolutioned  the iconography of the typical Annunciation.

The particularity of the canvas is the lay-down of the characters, as a matter of fact, unlike the tradition, Tiziano put the figures in different planes. He collocated the figure of Madonna in first plane whereas the Archangel is in second plane, where the clouds are lifted to permit the passage of the solar light. At the bottom, a bit hidden,  the figure of the canon who commissioned the work appeared . He seemed to peek at the entire scene with the attention of an observer.

This figure, put on the vanishing paint, wasn’t appreciated by the clerics of Treviso, neither for its location in the painting, nor for its poor executive quality.

In 1526 a group of unknown people stained the Malchiostro’s  portrait which was later repainted.

The plain is developed diagonally in depth. The imposing architecture and the foreshortened outdoor guarantee compositional  harmony. The prospective is emphasized by the checkered flooring.

The Virgin represented on the front, turns  the look behind with naturalness and dynamism.

The large and heavy cape expands  her forms and gives her volume. The virgin’s clothes remind the  blue and red colour of the flooring. The face doesn’t show fear, she looks like a majestic queen.

The archangel Gabriel comes from the right, accompanied by the divine light.

A yellow drape covers part of  his body but doesn’t hamper the movements.

The head is curved with modesty and holds a lily  in the left hand , symbol of the Virgin purity .

The divine light, that accompanies the angel, is the visible expression of the transcendent. It changes into a natural light and gives volume to everything .

The light gives more or less brilliance to the warm tonality of the colours, moreover it unifies the elements, immersing them into a sacred atmosphere