Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: duomo

The Cathedral of Saint Martin ( Duomo di San Martino ) is the city’s most important religious building. The current building dates back to 1764 and stands along the main square of the town - Piazza XX Settembre - on the site of the ancient church of San Martino, which was demolished to make way for the new church designed by Domenico Schiavi from Tolmezzo. The facade was completed only in 1931. The interior of the cathedral is well-proportioned with side chapels and a high altar of white marble . The ceiling has three frescoes, dating back to 1764. The side altars are adorned with beautiful 18th century paintings. On the main picture you see the tomb of Saint Hilary (Sant’Ilario), patron Saint of Carnia (a mountain area in Friuli-Venezia Giulia). Every year in August (usually the first Sunday after 15th August the mortal remains of the Saint, will be moved to the little chapel of "Sant'Ilario and Madonna della Strada" outside the center of Tolmezzo. For the entire period in which it remains, usually three days, every evening the holy rosary is recited. After that period, the mortal remains will be move again at the Cathedral with a religious procession and remain exposed for a few days. So we were quite lucky to come across this tomb.

The site of the Ljubljana Cathedral was originally occupied by a Romanic church, which was first mentioned in1263. It was built by boatmen and fishermen in honor of their patron, Saint Nicholas. This church burnt down in 1361 and was rebuilt in gothic style. Eight years after the establishing of the Ljubljana Diocese in 1461 the cathedral was burnt down, most probably by the Turks. Early 18th century a new cathedral in baroque style was built, which was consecrated in1707. The church's dome with a height of 24 meters was only built in 1841, originally a fake dome was painted on the arch above the centre of the cross; the dome fresco was painted in 1844. Not expecting such a beauty in Ljubljana, I was really impressed by the interior of the cathedral with its six side altars. It is a baroque masterpiece, which depicts classic gilt decorations, pink marble, detailed ceiling frescoes, carved choir stalls and a stunning main altar. In 1859 the interior was completely renovated: the frescoes were cleaned, the walls were covered with marble and the gilding was restored. Since 2008 the cathedral has been insured as a cultural monument of national importance in Slovenia. Two bronze doors were added in 1996 for the 1250th anniversary of Christianity in Slovenia and to commemorate a visit by former Pope John Paul II to the cathedral. The so called “Ljubljana door”- where visitors have to enter the church - has portraits of six bishops, depicting the history of the Ljubljana diocese (PiP3).