Orvieto Cathedral is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986, the cathedral in Orvieto has been the episcopal seat of the former Diocese of Todi as well.
The building was constructed under the orders of Pope Urban IV to commemorate and provide a suitable home for the Corporal of Bolsena, the relic of miracle which is said to have occurred in 1263 in the nearby town of Bolsena, when a traveling priest who had doubts about the truth of transubstantiation found that his Host was bleeding so much that it stained the altar cloth. The cloth is now stored in the Chapel of the Corporal inside the cathedral.
Situated in a position dominating the town of Orvieto which sits perched on a volcanic plug, the cathedral's façade is a classic piece of religious construction, containing elements of design from the 14th to the 20th century, with a large rose window, golden mosaics and three huge bronze doors, while inside resides two frescoed chapels decorated by some of the best Italian painters of the period with images of Judgment Day. The cathedral has five bells, dating back to Renaissance, tuned in E flat.
The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy is a museum containing many of the original works of art created for the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral of Florence. As of August 2013, the director of the museum is Fr. Timothy Verdon, an American.The museum is located just east of the Duomo, near its apse. It opened in 1891, and now houses what has been called "one of the world's most important collections of sculpture."
San Domenico is a church in Orvieto, Umbria, central Italy.
It was begun in 1233, a few years after St. Dominic's death, and it is one of the first churches of the Dominican Order. The edifice had a nave and two aisles; what remains today are only the apse and the transept, after most of the church was demolished in 1932 to house the Female Academy of Gymnastics.
The church is notable for housing the desk used by St. Thomas of Aquino for his lessons at Orvieto during his sojourn in the city , as well as the Monument to Cardinal De Braye, sculpted by Arnolfo di Cambio around 1282. As proved by restorations, the statues of the Madonna included in the latter is in fact a 2nd-century BC Roman one. Also in the church is the Petrucci Chapel, designed by Michele Sanmicheli in 1516-1523 under the choir. It has an octagonal plan and several sculptures.
The church was home to the San Domenico Polyptych by Simone Martini , now in the Orvieto Cathedral's Museum.
