Monuments

Details: Category: bovas; Last Updated on Friday, 23 February 2024 14:53; Published on Thursday, 23 May 2013 14:50; Hits: 800

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The Cathedral (9th century) is a solemn and austere building dedicated to St Mary of Isodia and is of Norman origin. It was rebuilt in the late 17th and early 19th centuries. It is believed that the ancient construction dates back to the first centuries AD. The church, with its Romanesque structure, has a basilica-type plan with three naves. The portal has a tuff stone doorpost decorated with small columns, and above it in a frame is the bishop's coat of arms. Another minor portal is located on the side façade, and the stone lintel bears an inscription dated 1691. The interior has three columned naves on which the side arches rest, and at the end of the central apse is the marble high altar built in 1933 by Bishop Giuseppe Cognata. At the top, in a special niche positioned on a marble panel about 45 cm high, is the statue of the Madonna of the Presentation, or Madonna of Isodia (from the Greek Ise-Ode: Presented) with the Child in her arms, sculpted in white marble and about one metre high. The Madonna and Child wear two silver crowns on their heads, dated 1614, with the coat of arms of Bishop Giovanni Camerota (1592-1620). The chapel in the right aisle contains the artistic Sacrament Altar in polychrome marble. The altar, attributed to Sicilian craftsmen, bears an inscription in the upper frame with the name of the patron, the nobleman Fabio Nesci, and the year of execution, 1714. Once in the middle of this chapel was the Sepulchre of the brethren of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Overlooking the right aisle is the Chapel of the Crucifix, dated 1754, in which a wooden Christ on the Cross from the 18th century was placed. The beautiful bell tower has four bells, and the big bell is also called the 'March bell', because it rang every Friday in Lent to remind everyone of the penitential period.