SAINT EVASIO’S CATHEDRAL

SAINT EVASIO’S CATHEDRAL
Largo Angrisani
8.30am-12.00am/3.00pm-6.30pm
except during religious ceremonies
www.cittaecattedrali.it
The church of St. Evasio, consecrated in 1107 by Pope Pasquale II, was made a bishop’s seat in 1474. The façade, except for the upper section
of the main portal and the rampant arches, is the result of the restoration works that the architect Edoardo Arborio Mella (Vercelli 1808- 1884) made halfway through 1800. The restoration of the large vestibule-narthex, completed in 2001, has emphasized the extraordinary sculptured medieval decoration with Romanesque bas-reliefs, responds and capitals.
A nave and four aisles, with ribbed vaults supported by high pilasters, open on the narthex. On the left in the presbytery there is the funeral
monument of Bishop Tibaldeschi, a work by Matteo Sanmicheli. The pictures of Saints and Angels in the dome of the choir were painted by
Costantino Sereno (1829- 1893) with the technique of dry tempera. On the right, there are the Gambera funeral monument by Sanmicheli and the altar of “Our Lady of Grace” formed by three 16th century statues attributed to Agostino Busti, called “il Bambaia”. The Chapel of Saint Evasio, which is under the patronage of the Town of Casale, opens on the right aisle. It was built in the second half of 1700 on projects by Benedetto Alfi eri modifi ed by Luigi Michele Barberis. The bas-reliefs were made by Giovan Battista Bernero and the fresco of the vault by Giovan Battista Ronchelli (1715-1788).
In the centre of the cathedral there is a Crucifi x in wood covered with a silver foil. It dates back to the second half of 12th century.