Albenga Cathedral (, Duomo di Albenga) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Michael in the city of Albenga, in the province of Savona and the region of Liguria, Italy. It is the seat of the Diocese of Albenga-Imperia.Catholic Hierarchy: Albenga-Imperia
A church has occupied the site since the turn of the 4th to the 5th century, but the present structure is medieval, built in about 1100, with a major rebuilding in the second half of the 12th century, and another in 1582. A restoration project in the 1970s largely returned the building to the medieval structure. The bell tower was rebuilt in its present form in the 1390s.
The relics of Saint Veranus (San Verano), who was instrumental in the Christianisation of Albenga in the 6th century, are preserved in a shrine.
The cathedral interior is well stocked with sculptures and works of art. The 19th century ceiling frescos are by Maurizio and Tommaso Carrega. Other frescos, particularly those in the apse, are of the 15th century. The right hand nave contains a fresco by the artist Il Pancalino of Saint Clare and two donors, and of the Crucifixion with Saints Anthony the Great and John the Evangelist, with the bishop of Albenga. The altarpiece on the high altar depicts Saint Veranus, Saint Michael and John the Baptist.
The cathedral also owns two paintings of the late 14th century by Luca Baudo of Saint Eligius and Saint Ampelius; a painting of the Miracle of St. Veranus by Giovanni Lanfranco; and a Madonna and Child with Saints by Orazio de Ferrari (the last two are not publicly displayed for security reasons).
Name Name All the written documentation in our possession assigns the title of the Cathedral of ingauna to St. Michael the Archangel. A tradition has it that on the road that leads from Albenga to Alassio there was a snake that killed anyone who passed. The population made a procession praying to St. Michael the Archangel to kill the snake. During the night a glow was seen coming from the sky and heading towards a point on the road; the population rushed in, and found the snake killed.
The protection of San Michele was widespread in the Lombards period, when the people in arms invoked the Saint and to whose effigy they swore fidelity before the fight. However, the proliferation of the cult dates back to the Byzantine era, and at the time the city of Albenga had close commercial relations with the Byzantine Empire, so the title of the cathedral to San Michele can place us at its first building.
However, documents emerged for which it was thought that for some time it could have been attributed to San Giovanni: the first document dates back to 1076 and dealt with the sale of a mill, in which the presence of eleven Sancti Iohannis milites is mentioned. The document by which the bishop of Albenga donated churches in the surroundings of Porto Maurizio to the Lérins Abbey dates back to 1103, the donation provided for a quoque anno aecclesia Sancti Iohannis ac Sancti Michaelis Albinguinensis aecclesie reddat solidos duos ...; this document, however, does not give the cathedral the double name, but speaks of two separate structures. Still documents that have also come down to us from the Templars include the church of San Giovanni. However, this was explained by analyzing all the documentation, that is, the cathedral-baptistery complex was built together, and it is likely that the baptistery itself was named after St. John the Baptist as a place of baptism and that the diocese referred to this structure as one of the main places of episcopal reference.
Albenga had its name linked to that of military saints, from Saint Calocero to Martin of Tours, but also in the church of St. George, or in the findings of the church of St. Teodoro, since the fortifications built by Costanzo created a city militarized in the Byzantine period.
History
Located in the center of the medieval city of Albenga, the foundation of the original building of worship date back to the reconstruction of the city (between the 4th and early 5th centuries), in the center of the Roman city. It stands on the site with the exact dimensions of the early Christian one. Its rebuilding occurred around 1100, on the ruins of the early Christian church, and again in the second half of the 20th century.
According to tradition, in the road that leads from Albenga to Alassio, there was a snake that killed everyone. The people made a procession praying Archangel Michael to kill the snake. During the night he saw a glow coming from the sky and head towards a point on the road, people noticed quickly, and found the snake killed.
The first plant
A first study of the ancient early Christian structure was undertaken between 1964 and 1967, which revealed that the building had a basilica plan and was very large; during the archaeological excavation, the bases of two columns near the altar were discovered.
After the conquest of Liguria in 643 by the Lombard king Rothari, the cathedral was reduced in size. A third level of flooring was added only in the central nave, placed over the second 6th-century floor, while the two side naves remained outside the church and served as burial places, probably for privileged individuals. This is significant as it suggests that the population was poorer and smaller, and therefore, a large hall could not be maintained.
Thanks to the division of the Ligurian territory into marches, which gave greater importance to Albenga and its diocese, the structure was rebuilt in the 11th century in proto-Romanesque forms, with a single nave and crypt. The phases of this reconstruction are still visible today in the lower masonry of the facade.
The current structure of the cathedral is the result of another reconstruction that took place at the end of the 12th century, although some sources suggest this enlargement may have occurred in the early decades of the 13th century, restoring the building's layout to the original basilica plan. This involved replacing the longitudinal walls with new columns featuring pointed arches. Little medieval documentation has survived to this day.
In the early 16th century, the Dominican Giacomo Salomonio brought attention to the ancient history of Albenga, and among the eminent scholars were Bernardo Ricci and Nicolò D’Aste. A note from Brother Giacomo Salomonio mentions the poor condition of the cathedral. Further modifications were undertaken in 1582 under the local bishop Luca Fieschi, prompted by the apostolic visitor Nicolò Mascardi, to adapt the structure to the new guidelines of the Counter-Reformation. The work involved raising the floor by about one meter to align it with the level of the square in front of the church, encasing the columns in pilasters, and replacing the wooden roof with new vaulted structures. A barrel vault was built in the central nave, while cross vaults were added in the two side naves. Additionally, new lighting points were introduced to illuminate the cathedral, along with new decorative elements, stucco, and sculptures on the railings and altars. Domes were built over the lateral arms of the transept, the windows were altered, and the pointed arches of the central nave were demolished and replaced with polycentric arches positioned higher.
Reconstruction Towards the 12th century, Albenga experienced a period of dominance along the coast, thanks to significant commercial growth and the security provided by the protection of the Holy Roman Emperor to counter Genoa. The chapter of the cathedral was established, and shortly thereafter, the communal palace (palacium comunis) was founded in the current Piazza San Michele. The relationship between the civic and episcopal powers allowed for the city's growth, which necessitated a new meeting place, and thus, the reconstruction of the cathedral began. Except for the facade, the proto-Romanesque structures were demolished, but the materials were reused in the new building, resulting in a basilica structure with three naves, in accordance with the proportions of the late antique period, traces of which had been preserved. Next to the facade, the bell tower had previously stood externally, but it was incorporated into the new structure. On the left side, there was a cemetery area and an external chapel to the central nave of the cathedral, which was consolidated into the new structure. However, the situation on the right side of the cathedral remains uncertain, where there was partially a cloister connecting it to Santa Maria in Fontibus, and it may have been used as a burial area or included a chapel. These modifications allowed the structure to accommodate the entire chapter, which was quite numerous between the 11th and 12th centuries.
The reconstruction restored the original level of the ancient floor and highlighted the proto-Romanesque underground crypt, which had been filled during the 12th-13th century construction. Historical documents about Albenga are only certain from the second half of the 13th century; prior to that, references are only found in testamentary acts. It remains unclear who and when ordered the new construction, although it is known that it was funded by the municipality. In the Albenga statutes of 1288 and 1350, there is always a reference to the budget item for the Opera Sancti Michealis, but the amount remained roughly the same, covering lighting and ordinary maintenance work. There is, however, an important chapter regarding the construction of the Villenove. It is presumed that the construction was overseen by a magister rationalis, tasked with supervising the site. In fact, Nino Lamboglia concluded that this work took place in 1270, based on a 16th-century inscription found during restoration work and dedicated to an altar of Saint Veranus of the Cepolla family, with the inscription: 1270 Manuel quondam Guglielmi fundavit, Prosperque Petri nobilis familie Cepule redificavit 1583. However, no nobleman with that name appears in the records from 1270; the name only appears in the following century. It is likely that Prospero Cepolla, a 16th-century noble, had the inscription backdated to claim greater antiquity for his lineage compared to his rivals. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that significant renovation work was done on the noble families’ altars in the second half of the 14th century.
14th Century Appearance The first description of the church’s interior comes from the chapter statutes of 1318, revised by Bishop Federico in 1335, where the functions and presence of the altars dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Veranus, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Stephen, and Saint Anthony are defined. On the main altar, there was an icon dedicated to the patron saint, which had deteriorated by 1367. Consequently, Canon Lorenzo da Chiavari made a contract with Francesco da Genova for the creation of a new conea magna (large icon). This work may have been funded by the will of Emanuele Cipolla, who in 1345 had requested to be buried in front of the main altar and that a crucifix be made for the cathedral with his image at its feet and various saintly figures in plaster cum picturis decentibus (with appropriate paintings). There is no trace of these works, leaving it unclear whether they have disappeared over the centuries or were never realized. During this period, frescoes were created around the main altar, some of which are still faintly visible today.
The altar of Saint John the Baptist had been located since medieval times at the head of the right nave; the saint was the protector of the diocese, and therefore his altar had to be in a prominent position next to that of Saint Michael. In 1504, Bishop Leonardo Marchese established a chaplaincy dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Stephen on the altar of Saint Stephen. Saint Stephen was highly venerated in Albenga, as evidenced by his inscription in the baptistery mosaic.