Tourist Attraction in Ventimiglia:
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is a religious building in the historic center of Ventimiglia. According to some historical sources, the cathedral was erected between the eleventh and twelfth centuries on the ruins of a former cathedral of the Carolingian period. According to local traditions, the latter was built on the site where once stood a pagan temple dedicated to Juno; the inscription attesting this statement is still preserved inside today's cathedral. During the early Middle Ages the structure of the church was a single nave, and it will be around 1100 that the cathedral will be completely rebuilt with three naves. Of the thirteenth century are the portal, with an acute arch, the three apses (one major and two minor) and the presbytery, with the octagonal tiburium, while the roof will be replaced with barrel vaults supported by Romanesque columns and pillars. Inside there is a Madonna with Child by Barnaba da Modena, painted on a panel dating back to the second half of the fourteenth century. The entire structure was subjected to a careful restoration in 1967 and the works continued in the following two years; in March of 1970 the cathedral was reopened to religious worship and to the public. Next to the lower left apse, at a lower level, stands the Baptistery, named after St. John the Baptist, coeval with the Cathedral. With an octagonal plan, it has been divided into two levels in the seventeenth century: the lower compartment has an umbrella vault and, along the perimeter, eight niches, alternately with a straight and semicircular base; inside there is a 13th century immersion basin in the center and another older, mortar-shaped basin in a niche; on the upper floor, which is accessed from the floor of the adjacent cathedral, a baroque chapel has been created dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. Word processing: Giovambattista Spagnuolo (Myooni)

Attractions in Ventimiglia