Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Chioggia's cathedral is a seventeenth-century building that preserves the memory of its medieval predecessor. After a fire in 1623, it was rebuilt from 1624 in a design associated with Baldassare Longhena. The cathedral stands beside a Romanesque bell tower dating to the fourteenth century.

Why it matters

The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Chioggia, whose seat moved from Malamocco to Chioggia in 1110. The medieval cathedral, recorded by 1091, burned on the night of 25 December 1623. Reconstruction began in 1624, and the present brick building was consecrated in 1674; work was completed in 1802. It remains the diocese's principal church.

What to notice

Longhena's plan turned the entrance toward the city's main street, with the high altar deep in the choir. The brick façade echoes the earlier Romanesque front. Above the Istrian-stone portal is a relief of the winged lion of Saint Mark, dating to the second half of the fifteenth century and retained from the earlier church. The Romanesque bell tower was begun in 1347 on the foundations of an earlier tower that collapsed that year. About 56 metres high, it has an octagonal belfry and a clock installed in 1686. Inside are the high altar by Alessandro Tremignon, a wooden choir brought from the abbey of Este in 1691, and the chapel of Saints Felice and Fortunato with their silver reliquary. The sacristy contains sixteenth-century paintings from the sanctuary of the Madonna della Navicella.

Context and history

The dedication to Santa Maria Assunta continues that of the ancient pieve of Santa Maria, the mother parish from which other early churches in Chioggia depended. The medieval cathedral stood near Porta Santa Maria. Its bell tower collapsed in 1347 and was rebuilt after the pestilence through offerings from lay donors. The 1623 fire left the old cathedral unusable; work on the present building began the following year. In 1988 the left transept vault collapsed while the church was empty. Restoration continued until 1992, during which time San Giacomo served cathedral functions.