Mother Church

The old Cathedral, built at the wishes of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, represented the typical three-nave basilica design without transept, where the central nave is taller than the lateral naves, and with a wooden gabled roof. The inside was divided by two rows of sturdy columns topped by pointed arches in limestone. Over the course of centuries the architectural structure was modified more than once: in the XV century a unit was built lengthways along the northern nave and in the XVI century the chapel of Saint Sylvester was constructed, while between the end of the XVI century and the XVII century the gables of the side naves were raised. Between 1921 and 1926 the Cathedral was completely demolished. On the very same spot, between 1935 and 1938, the current Mother Church was built, in a neo-gothic style with three naves, which does not conform to its urban surroundings whose medieval appearance is still intact.