Roman Catholic Diocese of Ivrea

Diocese of Ivrea
Dioecesis Eporediensis

Ivrea Cathedral
Location
Country Italy
Ecclesiastical province Turin
Statistics
Area 1,850 km2 (710 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2006)
203,560
200,848 (98.7%)
Parishes 141
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established 5th Century
Cathedral Cattedrale di S. Maria Assunta
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, C.O.
Emeritus Bishops Luigi Bettazzi
Map
Website
www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it

The Italian Catholic Diocese of Ivrea (Latin: Dioecesis Eporediensis) is in Piedmont. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin.[1]

History

Ivrea is on the Via Francigena, a pilgrim route that started as far away as Canterbury in England, and brought pilgrims through the St. Bernard passes in the Alps to Rome. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims could travel on to Bari and take ship for Jerusalem. The episcopal see of Ivrea is said to have been established by Eusebius of Vercelli about the middle of the fourth century. The first historically certain bishop is Eulogius (c. 451).[2]

Among the other bishops were: Hugo (1053), a son of King Arduinus; Alberto Gonzaga (1288); Nicholas Garigliatti (1492);Giuseppe di Ceva (1614), who restored the episcopal palace and adorned it with paintings; and Cardinal Richelmy (1886), who became Archbishop of Turin.[2]

According to tradition, Ivrea is where Saint Patrick was consecrated bishop before evangelizing Ireland. Saint Malachy of Armagh passed through Ivrea in 1139 on his way to Rome. In 1847 the Bishop Ivrea sent the Archbishop of Dublin forty pounds for the famine-stricken people of Ireland in memory of an Irish pilgrim who had died in Ivrea in 1492.[3]

On October 7, 2012, Msgr. Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, C.O., former Procurator General of the Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri, was installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Ivrea.

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is located on the Via San Savino in Ivrea.

Architecture

The cathedral is built on the site of a first century Roman temple. Between the fourth and fifth century, a Christian Church was constructed to the design of a Roman basilica. In the eleventh century, Bishop Warmondo, who was named bishop by Emperor Otto III, enlarged the structure in the Romanesque style.[4] Warmondo also established a scriptorium. As the apse and other portions of Warmondo's work remains, the cathedral constitutes an important example of Romanesque architecture in the Canavese.

Reconstruction in the twelfth century rebuilt the upper portions of the bell towers, that may have collapsed during the earthquake of 1117.

In 1516 Bishop Bonafacio Ferrero replaced the Romanesque façade with a Bramante-style portico, which in turn was changed to a Palladian style in 1854. Bishop Ottavio Pocchettini later commissioned architect Giuseppe Martinez to remodel the building in Late Baroque style.[4]

St. Christopher and St. Anthony the Abbot, Giacomo of Ivrea c. 1426

Art

The carved walnut reredos depicting motifs of plants, human and animal figures, attributed to Baldino of Surso are now in the Civic Museum of Ancient Art in Turin. The crypt contains frescoes from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, some damaged by time. On the foundation pillar of the southern bell tower, a holy warrior is depicted, possibly representing a member of the Theban Legion. There is also some early work by Giacomino of Ivrea and a painting attributed to the Maestro di Oropa.

In the sacristy is a 1521 depiction of the Adoration of the Child with the Blessed Warmondo and donor by Piedmont master Defendente Ferrari. A second Ferrari, the Adoration of the Child with St. Clare and the Poor Clares was re-located to the chapter room from the former convent of Santa Chiara in Ivrea, abolished in 1802.

Religious congregations

Ivrea Duomo Cappella Warmondo

Notables

Parishes

There are 141 parishes, 140 within the Piedmontese Province of Turin and the other within the Province of Vercelli, also in Piedmont.[7]

Piedmont

Province of Turin

Province of Vercelli

Notes

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 

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