Monumental Cathedral

(11th century) and the treasures of the Sacred Art Museum

It seems that the cathedral arises on the ruins of the Temple of Felicity, built by Pliny the Younger. The church was dedicated to San Lorenzo Martire. In 1012 the building threatened to go to ruin and Bishop Peter rebuilt it from the foundations and dedicated it to San Florido. In 1529 the church was entirely rebuilt according to Renaissance art.
Unique of its kind is the Romanesque bell tower round, isolated from the cathedral. Looking at the facade of Gabriotti square, you see that the monument is a mixture of elements, revealing the remakes made in later centuries. The Cathedral has a gothic portal and suggestive underground church, fifteenth-century ornamental frame inside, seventeenth-century coffered ceiling, eighteenth cupola, which collapsed in the earthquake of 1794 and was rebuilt on a design by Thomas Catrani. The other side of the Cathedral is unfinished.

The Cathedral Diocese Museum, among the most expansive museum of sacred art (800 square metres), is distributed on two adjacent floors of the Basilica of the Cathedral of S. Florido. A collection of 25 beautiful silver pieces used for the Eucharist liturgy can be found in one of the main rooms. It is an exemplary paleo-Christian art from the sixth century, recovered near the Sanctuary of Canoscio in Città di Castello in the spring of 1935 during harvesting (from here the name of ‘Canoscio Hoard’). The archaeological discovery is one of the most important of the last centuries. The large number of pieces found here (goblets, plates, religious drinking cups, and precious metals) makes the collection rare in Europe and of immense historical value.

              


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