The main church of Capua

Today we will talk about the main place of catholic worship in Capua, known as il Duomo di Capua.

It is traditionally thought to have been originally built by the archbishop Landulfo in 856, but it was rebuilt in the 10th century and then, it was reconstructed once again at the end of the 11th century, by the orders of the archbishop Erveo.

An entrance portico, later extended, was added and the ancient archbishop's palace renovated.

During the 18th century, the entire complex was radically restructured.

Between 1854 and 1857, under the command of Monsignor Gennaro Cosenza, an architect, named Federico Travaglini, remodeled the church.

The church was totally razed to the ground, during the bombing in 1943. It was reconstructed between 1949 and 1957.

In 1992, inside the Corpus Christi chapel, the diocesan museum was inaugurated. In this museum paintings and sculptures from the other churches of the town are kept.

 The churd had also the rank of minor basilica since 1827.

The structure

The church is a simple structure on a Latin cross design. It has three naves divided by 24 columns of granite.


The religious building is preceded  by a square atrium that includes 16 columns: it is one of the few remains of the original church, after the bombing of the second world war.



The bell tower


This is another remain of the ancient cathedral, it was built in the second half of the 9th century by Landone: some vestiges of Roman antiquity are still kept inside it.
Among these vestiges, there are some bas-reliefs that come from the amphitheater in Santa Maria Capua Vetere.


This a little introduction to one of the most beautiful churches in Capua, keep on reading to discover which paintings, sculptures and art masterpieces il Duomo contains.