Cattedrale di Sant'Alessandro (Duomo di Bergamo)

Bergamo Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Alexander, stands on Piazza Duomo beside Santa Maria Maggiore and the Colleoni Chapel. Beneath the present church, archaeological excavations have uncovered remains of a Roman quarter and an early Christian basilica, revealing the long religious history of the site.

Why it matters

The cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Bergamo and the focus of the city’s devotion to Saint Alexander. When the earlier cathedral of Sant’Alessandro was demolished in 1561 for the construction of the Venetian Walls, the saint’s cult and relics were transferred to the church now known as the Duomo. Archaeological work beneath the building has revealed earlier religious and Roman layers.

What to notice

The cathedral’s Botticino-marble façade has a neoclassical pediment. Inside, the single nave leads to side chapels and the dome, where Francesco Coghetti painted the Triumph of Saint Alexander. The silver urn beneath the high altar, made by Pietro Roberti and donated in 1702, holds the saint’s relics. The underground museum route presents remains of the Roman quarter, a fifth-century Christian basilica and the Romanesque cathedral.

Context and history

A medieval cathedral dedicated to Saint Vincent of Saragossa stood on the site before construction of the present Duomo. Bishop Giovanni Barozzi commissioned a new cathedral in the fifteenth century, and work began in 1459. Vincenzo Scamozzi directed the site from 1611; Carlo Fontana later reworked the church and raised the dome. The present façade was begun in 1866 and inaugurated in 1889. The demolition of the older Sant’Alessandro cathedral in 1561 transferred the patron saint’s relics and cult to this church.