The Church that dominates the center of Civitavecchia
The Cathedral was built on the ruins of a small Franciscan church built under the pontificate of Paul V in 1610. Pope Clement XIV later had it rebuilt, entrusting the work to the architect Francesco Navone. The construction was completed in 1782, under the pontificate of Pope Pius VI and it became a Cathedral in 1805. Visiting the Cathedral is a must-see when visiting the historic center of Civitavecchia. It is located a few steps from Fort Michelangelo, the Museum and the entire part of the ancient port.
Once you arrive in front of the Cathedral you can admire its elegant and solid structure, the high Baroque façade with a double Ionic order and a single central door from which a large staircase descends and fans out.
On the upper floor, where the tympanum rests, the church is decorated with two large statues representing St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua.
Once inside, the church presents a beautiful shape, with its single nave, decorated on the sides by symmetrical chapels carved into the background, interspersed with pillars that with their bases and rich capitals, seem to support the majestic royal vault that covers the entire room.
Worthy of mention in a side chapel, on the right side, is a valuable Nativity attributed to Domenico Zampieri known as Domenichino. Above the tympanum, instead, are two large sculptural figures representing Faith and Justice, respectively, the work of Pietro De Laurentiis. Under the latter you can see a fresco by Antonio Nessi representing Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata.
Inside there is a pipe organ from the Fabbrica Artigiana Organi Pinchi of Foligno. The instrument was restored and expanded by the same manufacturer in autumn 2019.
