Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, Squillace
The cathedral was built in the eleventh century at the behest of Count Roger I to eradicate Greek-Byzantine Christianity and to reaffirm the Catholic rite in the region. In 1643 the bell tower was damaged by an earthquake and later the church was destroyed by other events. It was rebuilt in 1737 by Bishop Michele Abbati and destroyed again by the 1783 earthquake. It was rebuilt by Bishop Nicola Notaris, who consecrated it on May 6, 1798.
Text / Source: Wikipedia
it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concattedrale_di_Santa_Maria_Assunta_(Squillace)
The Cathedral
Squillace was a very important ecclesiastical center, one of the first dioceses in Calabria to observe the Greek rite. According to ancient documents, before the 1793 earthquake, Squillace had 28 churches, three male and four female monasteries.
Among the religious buildings, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta stands out, the most important place of worship in Squillace and co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace.
This first place of worship of the Latin rite was built in Squillace in 1096 at the behest of the Norman Count Roger I of Hauteville, immediately after the city was conquered. Today's cathedral, on the other hand, was built after the earthquake of 1783 and was promoted to "Basilica Minor" in 2015, an honorary title that the Pope bestowed on all historically significant churches.
The original church, in Romanesque-Norman style, was built using bricks and an excellent lime mortar, in keeping with the construction of the Abbeys of Sant’Eufemia and in particular the cathedrals of Gerace and Mileto.
Today's stone facade in Romanesque style has a central body that protrudes slightly from the side.
The cathedral consists of three naves divided by pillars. Inside there is a baptismal font from the 16th century, the funerary monument of Bishop Capece Galeota, who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, and a painting by Domenico Basile from the 18th century. One of the inner chapels is that Dedicated to the martyr Sant'Agazio, beheaded in Constantinople and patron saint of Squillace.
The cathedral also houses the relics of the martyr Sant’Agazio, a Roman centurion of Cappadocia who was beheaded under Diocletian in Constantinople in AD 311 and is the patron saint of the city of Squillace and the diocese. His cult reached Squillace along with the relics that, according to legend, were carried by the waves of the sea.
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