Duomo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duomo is a generic Italian term for a cathedral church. The formal word for a church that is presently a cathedral is cattedrale; a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral (the latter always in a town that no longer has a bishop nor therefore a cathedral, as for example Trevi). Such churches are usually referred to simply as "Il Duomo" or "The Duomo", without regard to the full proper name of the church.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word duomo derives from the Latin word "domus", meaning house, as a cathedral is the "house of God", or domus Dei.
Italian cathedrals are often highly decorated and contain notable artworks; in many cases the buildings themselves are true artworks. Perhaps the best known Duomo is Milan Cathedral, but other well-known cathedrals include San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome and those of Alba, Ancona, Mantua, Parma and Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore. Other notable examples are in Cefalù, Cremona, Enna, L'Aquila, Modena, Monreale, Naples, Genoa, Orvieto, Padua, Piazza Armerina, Pisa (the Leaning Tower is the Duomo's bell-tower), Prato, San Gimignano, Siena, Spoleto, Turin and Viterbo.
The Duomo of Florence |
The Duomo of Como |
The Duomo of Amalfi |
The Duomo of Ancona |
The Duomo of Asti |
The Duomo of Bari |
The Duomo of Catania |
The Duomo of Cremona |
The Duomo of Ferrara |
The Duomo of Massa Marittima |
The Duomo of Matera |
The Duomo of Mantova |
The Duomo of Modena |
The Duomo of Monreale |
The Duomo of Orvieto |
The Duomo of Pisa |
The Duomo of Reggio Calabria |
The Duomo of Siena |
The Duomo of Turin |