Arezzo Cathedral

The three-nave Gothic cathedral in Arezzo catches the eye from a distance.

This imposing building is considered the city’s most important Catholic place of worship and is a popular tourist destination, thanks in part to the seven vibrantly colored stained-glass windows created by the French painter Guillaume de Marcillat.

A cathedral had already stood on the nearby hill of Pionta; it was moved within the city walls in 1203 at the request of Pope Innocent III to replace the Benedictine church of San Pietro Maggiore, which had been mentioned as early as 876.

A Pope’s Last Will and Testament

The plan to build a new cathedral arose suddenly and was spurred by a specific circumstance: Pope Gregory X, returning from the Council of Lyon in December 1275, stopped in Arezzo due to a rapid deterioration in his health. Before his death in January 1276, he bequeathed 30,000 florins to be used for the construction of the new cathedral.

Important things take time

Construction work was undertaken by Bishop Guglielmino degli Ubertini in 1278 and was not completed until 1511, though the building did not yet have its current appearance at that time. The exterior façade remained undecorated for centuries. Architect Dante Viviani gave it its current Neo-Gothic appearance between 1900 and 1914. The bell tower, with its 20-meter-high spire, was not fully completed until 1937.

Masterpieces that amaze

Inside the cathedral, which is open daily, visitors can admire the extraordinary stained-glass windows and numerous masterpieces by great artists. One of these is the fresco by Piero della Francesca, painted around 1460, which depicts Mary Magdalene standing before a blue sky while holding one side of her red tunic over her green dress. The wooden choir stalls and the organ console in the left aisle were designed by Giorgio Vasari, the famous architect from Arezzo. You can also admire the magnificent Della Robbia terracotta works, housed in the Chapel of the Madonna del Conforto.