Padua Cathedral, or Basilica Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (), is a Catholic church and minor basilica located on the east end of Piazza Duomo, adjacent to the bishop's palace in Padua, Veneto, Italy.
The cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is the seat of the Bishop of Padua. The church building, first erected as a cathedral in the 4th century, has undergone major reconstructions over the centuries.
History
The present church is the third structure built on the same site. The first cathedral was erected after the Edict of Milan in 313 and destroyed by an earthquake on 3 January 1117. It was rebuilt in Romanesque style: the appearance of that medieval church can be seen in the frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi in the adjoining baptistery. The current building dates from a reconstruction during the sixteenth century. While in the past the design was attributed to Michelangelo, it was performed rather by Andrea della Valle and Agostino Righetto, and has much in common with earlier Paduan churches. Construction began on the new Renaissance building in 1551 and went on for two centuries, being completed in 1754, yet leaving the façade unfinished.
The Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, and has the dignity of minor basilica. It is also a parish center and allows for veneration of the bodies of San Daniele, San Leonino and San Gregorio Barbarigo.
Paleochristian Age
Tradition says that the first cathedral, dedicated to Santa Giustina, was built after the Edict of Constantine. A pillar of stone surmounted by a cross marks its location in the current churchyard. During a restoration (ca 462 or 602) the Episcopal see of Patavium was joined to that of Santa Maria. Bishop Tricidio restored the cathedral in 620 and it was again rebuilt between 899 and 900 due to a fire. In 1075 the Bishop Olderico consecrated the new cathedral on the ruins of the previous church. For this last step construction, later historians suppose that the facade was located to the east, with a confession and a crypt under the apse where bishop Tricidio is buried. His tombstone was discovered during the excavation of the foundations. This basilica collapsed during the 3 January 1117 earthquake.
Excavation and research by the Chair of Medieval Archeology at the University of Padua between 2011 and 2012 has expanded knowledge of the entire area around the Episcopal Palace, the cathedral, and the Baptistery. In the north-east corner of the churchyard, they found the base of a tower with a square plan (10x10 metres; 33x33 ft.) Romanesque style from between the 10th and 12th century. The excavations found the foundations of buildings from between the ninth and eleventh century. North of the baptistery are a series of mosaic pavements from the fourth and the fifth centuries. Among the finds are: a sarcophagus in stone for relics, a Lacerta altar dating from the fifth or sixth century, fragments of liturgical furnishings from various eras, graves (56 individuals), and traces of home workshops from the Longobard age.
The cathedral of Macillo
As a result of the earthquake of 1117, a new cathedral was erected by architect Macillo, it is not clear whether on the ruins of the cathedral of Olderico or to a new location; it opens onto a piazza and churchyard. It was consecrated the 24 April 1180. The new church stood in area of the current cathedral, with the identical orientation (facade to the east and presbytery to the west) divided into three naves and the transept. The side aisle to the south overlooked a road that skirted the Episcopal Palace and the bell tower; the side aisle to the north was contiguous to the cloister of the canons and the baptistery. Inside the nave the aisles were divided by columns and pillars, alternative in the Ottonian tradition. In 1227 the campanile was rebuilt. Bishop Stephen from Carrara promoted some restoration and embellishment of the vaults (1399 and 1400).