The façade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni, with its colonnaded portico and side bell tower, with the fountain in front reflecting the sky and the building adjacent to the cathedral
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The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and its Crypt - Terni

The cathedral of Terni, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, has a long and complex history that often makes dates and construction events uncertain.

According to tradition, it was Saint Anastasius, bishop of Terni during the 7th century, who built the first place of worship over the remains of a pagan temple. The earliest hagiographic information about St Anastasius, dating back to the 15th century, gives news of the discovery of his burial place in 840: from that moment on, Anastasius became patron saint of the city until 1644, when he was replaced by St Valentine.

The crypt

Terni’s cathedral preserves traces of construction phases preceding the church itself, the oldest dating back to the 6th-7th centuries, identified as the church built by St Anastasius himself. The most significant feature is certainly the crypt, considered the original church built around the tomb of St Anastasius, still preserved inside.

Although its dating is uncertain, stone elements datable to the 9th century embedded in the walls of the crypt seem to suggest that this primitive place of worship was built around the time of the discovery of the saint’s tomb.

The crypt, of the “ad oratorium” type, is an apsidal hall divided by four columns. It is located under the nave (about three metres below the floor) but originally emerged above ground, as evidenced by the three single-lancet windows that open on its walls. The altar rests on a pagan ara set between two Cosmatesque tiles; underneath are two inscriptions referring to the altar dedicated to Saint Anastasius.

The façade of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni, with the colonnaded portico and statues of Terni’s bishops on the upper floor

The façade of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni

Front view of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni, with a portico, statues of bishops on the upper balustrade and the bell tower on the right, with the square in front of the cathedral

Square in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni

Close-up of the bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni, with its Baroque dome and two statues of bishops placed on the balustrade

Bell Tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni

Portal of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni, carved in stone with vegetal and animal motifs

Romanesque Portal of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Terni

Romanesque Church

The church was built in the 12th century on top of earlier structures. However, its current appearance is the result of numerous renovations over the centuries.

From the Romanesque phase, some traces remain of the Cosmatesque flooring and stone furnishings such as the decorations on the main portal. The original façade was preceded by a portico supported by repurposed columns, and lit by two mullioned windows with two lights and a rose window, now visible on the counter façade.

With the reconstruction of the tribune and apse in the 15th century, major renovations began. In 1559, the wooden choir by Domenico Corsi was installed. In 1565, the longitudinal body was extended and new side chapels were added according to the design of Sebastiano Flori from Arezzo, a pupil of Giorgio Vasari.

During the 17th century, the cathedral took on its definitive Baroque appearance, with the construction of the square in front and the mural decoration of the apse, depicting the Assumption of the Madonna, attributed to the school of Andrea Polinori.

The side tower, subject to controversy regarding its placement during the 16th-century reconstruction, was finally positioned to the left of the apse and inaugurated as a bell tower in 1743.

Exterior

The façade of the building, clad in elegant white limestone, features a wide portico with a double order of columns, opening onto three Romanesque-style portals.

The main portal is decorated with intricate scrolls of acanthus leaves, between which symbolic and fantastic animals are carved. An inscription engraved on the portal attributes the work to the Narnese master Ocellus Scinda.

A curious feature to the left of the central portal is a slab engraved with a shoe imprint, which has given rise to numerous interpretations: according to one of these, it represents the maximum height of heels allowed for women, as established by the regulations issued in 1444 by the municipality of Terni.

At the right end of the portico is a pointed-arch portal, built in 1439, decorated with a vine shoot that emerges from the hand of a vine-dresser and pours wine into an amphora on the opposite side. Although today the portal no longer serves as an entrance, it probably once led to the baptistery.

The roof of the portico is terraced, while the upper part of the façade is enriched by a travertine balustrade, designed by Marcello Piacentini. From this balustrade, statues of eight Terni bishops, including Saint Valentine, made by Corrado Vigni, overlook the square below.

Interior

The cathedral has a Latin cross layout, with three naves divided by pillars, from which the side chapels, such as those of the baptistery and the Blessed Sacrament, open. Many of the 17th-century furnishings were lost in the 19th century and during the20th century bombings.

Some paintings dating back to the 15th century suggest that the cathedral was once covered with votive frescoes, such as the fragmentary fresco depicting St. Anthony the Abbot and figures of bishops, or the one depicting a Virgin Annunciate.

The counter façade was frescoed in 2007 by Argentine painter Ricardo Cinalli. Titled “Rete mistica” (Mystic Net), it depicts the resurrection of bodies during the Last Judgement. To the left of the main portal is a painting of the Agony in the Garden, a rare example of Francesco Cincinnato’s work; to the right is a Circumcision, a panel painting by Livio Agresti in 1560. On the left end, above the fragmentary 15th century fresco of St Anthony Abbot, is a 1568 canvas by Marten Stella depicting the Madonna and Child among Saints.

In the right arm of the transept is a 17th century painting by Bartolomeo Babiani depicting St Martin and the Beggar, originally from the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine.

In the main chapel is a polychrome altar made in 1762 by Antonio Minelli, with a majestic tabernacle by Carlo Murena, surmounted by an oval canvas depicting the Virgin in Prayer. On the left is a magnificent pipe organ from 1647 by Luca Neri. In the apse is an impressive 1559 wooden choir attributed to Domenico Corsi, while in the large apse basin is the 1782 fresco Trinity in Glory by Liborio Coccetti.

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