Cattedrale dei Santi Massimo e Giorgio

L'Aquila's Cathedral of Saints Massimo and Giorgio stands on Piazza del Duomo and embodies the city's repeated cycles of destruction and rebuilding.

Why it matters

The cathedral was established when the bishopric moved to L'Aquila in the thirteenth century. Earthquakes and reconstruction have repeatedly reshaped the building, making it a record of the city's changing architectural ambitions and resilience.

What to notice

The church's long body reflects Sebastiano Cipriani's eighteenth-century rebuilding, with a Latin-cross plan and side chapels. The neoclassical facade was begun in the nineteenth century and completed in the twentieth, a sequence visible in its differing architectural phases.

Context and history

The see of L'Aquila was established in 1257, and the cathedral was built on Piazza del Duomo. It was destroyed in 1259 and rebuilt; later earthquakes, notably that of 1703, required further reconstruction. The 2009 earthquake severely damaged the cathedral, adding another chapter to its long history of repair.