Orvieto Cathedral

Orvieto Cathedral
Duomo di Orvieto
Façade of the cathedral
Religion
AffiliationRoman Catholic
ProvinceTerni
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusDiocese of Orvieto-Todi
StatusActive
Location
LocationOrvieto, Umbria, Italy
Architecture
TypeChurch
StyleItalian Gothic
Groundbreaking1290
Completed1591
Website
http://www.opsm.it/
Coronation of the Virgin mosaic on the top gable of the cathedral
Rose window
Marble Pieta, Madonna Mourning the Crucified Jesus with St. Nicodemus

Orvieto Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Orvieto; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986, the cathedral in Orvieto has been the episcopal seat of the former Diocese of Todi as well.

The building was constructed under the orders of Pope Urban IV to commemorate and provide a suitable home for the Corporal of Bolsena, the relic of miracle which is said to have occurred in 1263 in the nearby town of Bolsena, when a traveling priest who had doubts about the truth of transubstantiation found that his Host was bleeding so much that it stained the altar cloth. The cloth is now stored in the Chapel of the Corporal inside the cathedral.

Situated in a position dominating the town of Orvieto which sits perched on a volcanic plug, the cathedral's façade is a classic piece of religious construction, containing elements of design from the 14th to the 20th century, with a large rose window, golden mosaics and three huge bronze doors, while inside resides two frescoed chapels decorated by some of the best Italian painters of the period with images of Judgment Day. The cathedral has five bells, dating back to the Renaissance, tuned in E flat.