Description
Dominating the square with its imposing presence, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is one of the most important Gothic monuments in Piedmont.
Although its origins date back to the fifth century, the present building, laid out on a Latin-cross plan with a central nave and two side aisles, was constructed between the late thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century.
The façade, with its three large rose windows and strong vertical emphasis, reveals French influences skilfully interpreted by local craftsmen. Exposed brick and sandstone are combined to create an elegant and harmonious architectural composition.
On the exterior, the northern and southern walls are articulated by massive buttresses, between which tall pointed-arched windows rise. The present bell tower reflects the rebuilding begun in 1266 by the devotus Ghigo, as recorded on an inscription on its southern side.
Upon entering the Cathedral, visitors encounter a striking contrast. The austere Gothic architecture of the three naves is enriched and softened by sumptuous painted decoration dating from the late seventeenth century.
The chancel, remodelled in the mid-eighteenth century, contains a remarkable treasure rediscovered in 1984: part of an eleventh-century mosaic floor, a surviving reminder of the earlier Romanesque cathedral.
Among the Cathedral’s many works of art are its fine baptismal fonts, dating from the eleventh, thirteenth and fifteenth centuries; sixteenth-century panel paintings by Gandolfino da Roreto; an early sixteenth-century polychrome terracotta group depicting the Lamentation over the Dead Christ; and a 1710 statue of Our Lady of the Assumption, made of repoussé, silvered and gilded copper.