Cattedrale di Santa Anastasia

Facing the castle across Piazza Campo, the Cathedral of Santa Anastasia preserves a pointed medieval portal beneath a façade rebuilt from 1705. It has served as the principal church of Santa Severina for centuries and is now a co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina.

Why it matters

Archbishop Ruggero di Stefanuzia built the cathedral between 1274 and 1295, joining Santa Severina's earlier Byzantine Christian tradition to the Latin Middle Ages. The cathedral stands within a connected monumental group with the ancient baptistery and archbishop's palace. The dioceses of Santa Severina and Crotone were united in 1986, and the church retains its co-cathedral status.

What to notice

The basilical plan has three naves arranged in a Latin cross. The pointed Gothic portal survives from the medieval church; the façade above it belongs to the rebuilding begun in 1705 under Archbishop Berlingieri. The cathedral faces the castle across Piazza Campo, with the round Byzantine baptistery and archbishop's palace beside it. Important objects from the church's history, including an 1184 papal bull and a 1792 silver statue of Santa Anastasia, are preserved in the adjacent diocesan museum.

Context and history

The present cathedral was founded by Archbishop Ruggero di Stefanuzia and completed between 1274 and 1295. The building was reshaped in the early eighteenth century, when Archbishop Berlingieri initiated a reconstruction that transformed its exterior. Its dedication is to Santa Anastasia, patroness of the town. The church remains central to the religious and civic life gathered around Piazza Campo.