Concattedrale Gran Madre di Dio, Modern cathedral in Taranto, Italy

The Concattedrale Gran Madre di Dio is a modern church in Taranto's Città Nuova, inaugurated in 1970. Its facade has two parts: a front section 87 metres long and 35 metres high, and a rear double perforated wall 40 metres tall set back 50 metres, replacing a traditional dome. The interior walls are rough white plaster, and the main altar is stone with green-painted iron facing the congregation.

In the early 1960s Archbishop Guglielmo Motolese asked Gio Ponti to design a modern co-cathedral for Taranto's new city. The project was drawn up between 1964 and 1966, the first stone was laid on 29 June 1967, and the church was completed and inaugurated by Motolese on 6 December 1970. It was dedicated to the Gran Madre di Dio, protector of the city with Saint Catald, to whom the population attributed its rescue from the earthquake of 7 December 1710.

The interior features sea-green tones and maritime symbols that reflect Taranto's deep connection to the Mediterranean. This design choice shapes the feeling of the space and links the religious purpose to the city's maritime identity.

The church stands at the junction of viale Magna Grecia and the end of via Dante. The upper church holds three thousand people, while the crypt is reached from the ground floor through a side entrance. The deep coffered ceiling makes symphonic performance difficult, so check the programme before attending a concert.

The rear wall, set back 50 metres from the front section, is a double perforated wall 40 metres high that replaces a traditional dome. The deep coffering of the ceiling makes symphonic performance difficult. In the crypt chapel of the Blessed Sacrament lies Archbishop Guglielmo Motolese, who commissioned the church and inaugurated it in 1970.