The Cathedral of Massa Marittima

The building of the Cathedral, entitled to Saint Cerbone, was started in the half of the twelfth century and ended at the beginning of the fourteenth century.

The facade of the Cathedral is finely decorated with elements reproducing different geometric shapes and some Evangelist's symbols.

The opening portal is surmounted by a bass-relief portraying some scenes of Saint Cerbone's life: the decorations continue along all sides of the building.

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By the Cathedral soars up a big quadrangular belfry.

The interior of the Cathedral has three aisles standing on columns characterized by different heights.

On the internal facade it is possible to admire some traces of frescoes and bass-relieves and also a fourteenth-century window portraying "Saint Cerbone and the Pope Vigilio".

In the right aisle is placed a baptistery built by Girolamo da Como, formed by a structure showing Saint John Baptist's raised scenes and by the middle soars up a marble-made tabernacle surmounted by a Baptist's statue and surrounded by some little statues portraying some patriarchs and prophets.

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In the presbitery it is possible to admire the granite-made main altar that was built during the thirteenth century by Flaminio del Turco and behind the main altar is placed the Saint Cerbone's arch built in 1324 by Goro di Gregorio that is formed by a marble-made urn, entirely decorated with carved pictures portraying the "Saint Cerbone's Legend".

The walls of the left aisle show fine frescoes like an "Annunciation" by Raffaele Vanni, the "Magi's Coming" painted by Biagio di Goro (1620-1690) and a trypthic dating back to XIV-th century portraying "Our Lady with the Child and the Saints Francesco and Caterina d'Alessandria".

Finally very interesting is the Our Lady's Chapel whose inside it is possible to admire a fine fourteenth-century plate portraying "Our Lady of the Graces".