Fidenza Cathedral, Romanesque cathedral in Fidenza, Italy
Fidenza Cathedral is a Romanesque cathedral in the center of Fidenza, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has a three-nave interior supported by large pillars, and its west facade is built in light stone and covered with carved portals, relief panels, and open galleries stacked above one another.
Work on the cathedral began in the 12th century, and the sculptor Benedetto Antelami played a central role in shaping its facade. The city was destroyed in 1268, but the church was rebuilt over the following decades and completed gradually across the centuries.
The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Donnino, a Roman soldier who was executed nearby and whose relics are kept in the crypt below the altar. His name was once the name of the city itself, which was called Borgo San Donnino until the 20th century.
The cathedral stands directly on the main square of Fidenza and is easy to reach on foot from the town center. Inside, visitors can go down into the crypt beneath the altar by using two staircases on either side of it.
One of the figures carved on the central portal shows a hand pointing toward Rome, which served as a directional marker for pilgrims walking to the city. This detail made the cathedral a reference point along the Via Francigena, one of the main medieval routes crossing Europe toward Rome.
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