1835 print MESSINA CATHEDRAL, SICILY, ITALY, #20

Print from steel engraving titled MESSINE: Chapelle souterraine de la Cathedrale, published in a volume of L'Univers Pittoresque, Paris, approx. page size 21 x 12 cm, approx. image size 13 x 8.5 cm, nice hand coloring.

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Cathedral of Messina

The Cathedral (12th century), containing the remains of Conrad, king of Germany and Sicily in the 13th century. After the earthquake of 1908, the cathedral was almost entirely rebuilt in 1919/1920. It had to be rebuilt a second time in 1943, after a fire following Allied bombings. The original Norman structure can be seen in the apsidal area. The façade has three late Gothic portals, the central one probably dating from the early 15th century, with noteworthy decorations. The architrave is decorated with a sculpture of Christ Among the Evangelists and representations of human figures, animals and plants. The tympanum is from 1468. The interior has a nave and two equally long aisles divided by files of 28 columns; some of the decorative elements are from the original edifice. Beside of that of Conrad IV, the tombs include those of Archbishop Palmer (died in 1195), Archbishop Guidotto de Abbiate (14th century) and Antonio La Legname (16th century). The mosaics in the apse are reconstructions. Noteworthy is the Chapel of the Sacrament (late 16th century), with scenographic decorations and 14th century mosaics. The bell tower remarkably holds the largest astronomical clock in the world, built in 1933 by the Ungerer company of Strasbourg. A popular touristic attraction is represented by the animated mechanical statues which every day at noon narrate important events of civil and religious history of the city.

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