Cathedral of SS Salvatore

The cathedral reveals the importance and history of a city that was once a diocese and is now still a bishopric. The oldest plant dates back to the eleventh century. The rich facade has a portal surmounted by a high relief of Roger I of Altavilla on horseback, in memory of the Norman victory over the Arabs in 1072. In ‘700 the church was transformed, assuming a Latin cross plant and decorations in Baroque style, with the addition of the imposing bell tower. Internally it has a sumptuous appearance, divided into three naves and embellished with sculptures and frescoes. The right aisle is dominated by a marble portal made by the sculptor Bartolomeo Berrettaro in 1525. The right aisle leads to the capitular wing; in the vestibule there are two valuable Roman sarcophagi decorated in relief and a third one, discovered during the excavations carried out in the Cappella della Immacolata. In the left transept there is a sculpture of Christ made in the ‘700 by Ignazio Marabitti and a painted wooden cross of 1200. The apse is enriched by the sculptural group of the Transfiguration commissioned to Antonello Gagini and executed by his son Antonino in 1537.