Duomo di Casalmaggiore, Neoclassical cathedral in Casalmaggiore, Italy.
The Duomo di Casalmaggiore, dedicated to Santo Stefano, was designed by Fermo Zuccari on a Greek cross plan with three naves, side chapels and a deep apse choir. A pronaos of arches forms the entrance vestibule, and the 60-metre dome rests on a drum pierced by 16 arches. Its 70-metre bell tower stands alongside.
A nobleman named Giovanni Vicenza Ponzone funded the construction starting in 1840, with the building completed in 1846 and consecrated in 1861. The bell tower was then added between 1897 and 1899 by architect Fermo Zuccari, thanks to a separate donation.
The church is dedicated to Saint Stephen, whose martyrdom is depicted in the apse basin by Pietro Verzetti. Inside are two monuments by Pietro Civeri commemorating Giovanni Vicenza Ponzone and Luigi Chiozzi, and 28 white stone saints stand in niches.
The cathedral stands at the end of Via Favagrossa in central Casalmaggiore, positioned between two neoclassical mansions named Camozzi and Mina-Tentolini. The location is easy to reach on foot and sits within walking distance of the city's other main civic buildings.
The 70-metre bell tower was built between 1897 and 1899 by Fermo Zuccari, the same architect who designed the church, using funds from the legacy of Bianca Contesini. It was added more than fifty years after the church was begun in 1840.
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