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{{Short description|Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Italy}}
{{unreferenced|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Prato Cathedral<br/><small>Duomo di Prato; Cattedrale di Santo Stefano {{itin iconlang|it}}</small>
| infobox_width =
| image = Duomo Prato 01.jpg
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| materials =
}}
'''Prato Cathedral''', or '''Cathedral of Saint Stephen''', ({{lang-langx|it|Duomo di Prato; Cattedrale di San Stefano}}) is a Roman Catholic [[cathedral]] in [[Prato]], [[Tuscany]], [[Central Italy]], from 1954 the seat of the [[Bishop of Prato]], having been previously, from 1653, a cathedral in the [[Diocese of Pistoia and Prato]]. It is dedicated to [[Saint Stephen]], the first Christian martyr.
 
It is one of the most ancient churches in the city, and was already in existence in the 10th century. It was built in several successive stages in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque style]]. The church contains a number of notable works of art, in particular fine sculpture.
 
==Origin==
The church of Saint Stephen was built in a green meadow (''Prato'') after an appearance of the [[Virgin Mary]] near the village of Borgo al Cornio (the present center of Prato). The first building was a small parish church. which the earliest document dates from AD 994. ▼
 
The expansion of the church began in the 15th century and transformed the modest building into one of the most lovely Gothic-Romanesque buildings in Tuscany.
 
==History==
▲The church of Saint Stephen was built in a green meadow (''Prato'') after an appearance of the [[Virgin Mary]] near the village of Borgo al Cornio (the present center of Prato). The first building was a small parish church, documented as early as AD 994 as the ''[[Pieve]] di Santo Stefano''. whichA substantial expansion of the earliestchurch documentbuilding datesbegan fromin ADthe 994.15th century, enlarging the nave and aisles, and erecting the bell tower (completed 1356); this transformed the modest building into the Gothic-Romanesque building we see today.
The cathedral is documented as early as the 10th century as the ''[[Pieve]] di Santo Stefano'', located in the Borgo al Cornio, the first settlement in Prato.
 
The current structure dates from the Romanesque period of the 12th century: the nave, side walls and greater part of the bell tower remain from this date. The upper stage of the bell tower was constructed in 1356.
[[File:Prato, duomo pulpito di donatello e michelozzo.JPG|thumb|left|Outside pulpit by [[Donatello]] and [[Michelozzo]]]]
During the 14th century the cathedral acquired an important [[relic]], the ''[[Sacra Cintola]]'' or Belt of the [[The Madonna|Holy Virgin]]. This brought about the enlargement of the edifice by the addition of a [[transept]] which is attributed to [[Giovanni Pisano]], but is probably the work of a pupil of [[Nicola Pisano]]. The Cintola Chapel was also built at this time to house the relic.
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Below the central gable, a decorative clock is set into the façade, in place of a central window. It is surrounded by segments of the contrasting marble and forms part of the harmonious design.
 
The [[fresco]]esfrescoes of the transept chapel are also of the 15th century, but are in the [[Renaissance art|Renaissance painting]] style.
 
<div align="center"><gallery>
File:Piazza Duomo, Prato, Toscana, Italia 15.jpg| Piazza of the Duomo
File:Duomo di prato, portale sud, 01.JPG| South portal colored marble frame
File:Duomo di prato, portale sud, 02.JPG| South portal
File:Duomo di prato, portale sud, 03.JPG| South portal
</gallery></div>
 
==Interior==
[[File:SantoDuomo stefano-columnsdi prato, transetto 02.jpgJPG|thumb|Columns]]
Internally, the church, built on a [[Latin cross]] ground plan, has a nave and two side aisles, all in Romanesque style and dating from the early 13th century. They are separated by elegant columns of green [[Serpentine group|serpentine]], the capitals being attributed to Guidetto. The vaults, designed by [[Ferdinando Tacca]], were added in the 17th century.
 
The north aisle houses a notable [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] pulpit in white marble (1469–1473). The base is decorated with [[sphinx]]es. The parapet has reliefs by [[Antonio Rossellino]], portraying the ''Assumption'' and the ''Stories of St. Stephen'', and by [[Mino da Fiesole]] portraying the ''Stories of St. John the Baptist''. It is faced, in the opposite aisle, by a great bronze candelabrum by [[Maso di Bartolomeo]] (1440), having an elongated vase-shape from which seven branches protrude. Maso also executed the balcony of the inner west wall, which in addition is decorated with a fresco of the ''Assumption'' by [[Davido del Ghirlandaio|David]] and [[Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio]].
 
<div align="center"><gallery>
File:Duomo di prato, interno 03.JPG| Interior of church
File:Santo stefano-inner pulpit.jpg| Interior pulpit
File:Ridolfo del ghirlandaio, assunta, cathedral of prato.jpg| ''Madonna of the Assumption'' by Ghirlandaio
Maso di bartolomeo (1440) candelabro, cathedral of prato.jpg| Candelabra by Maso di Bartolomeo
</gallery></div>
===Transept===
A small staircase leads from the old church to the 14th-century transept, which has five high [[cross vault]]s, each ending in an apse divided by pilasters. The [[presbytery (architecture)|presbytery]] has three works by the American artist Robert Morris (2000–2001).
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In the south arm of the transept is the Renaissance [[Aedicula|tabernacle]] by the [[Benedetto da Maiano|Da Maiano]] brothers: the ''Madonna with Child'' terracotta (1480) is by the more famous [[Benedetto da Maiano|Benedetto]].
 
The chapels can be accessed through a 17th-century [[balustrade]] in polychrome marble, for which parts of the Renaissance choir were re-used (including crests and cherubimscherubim).
 
===Transept chapels===
In the south arm of the transept, the Vinaccesi Chapel houses a notable ''Deposition of Christ'' from the 13th century. It also has 19th-century frescoes by the Pratese painter [[Alessandro Franchi (painter)|Alessandro Franchi]].
[[File:SantoAgnolo stefanoGaddi e bottega, cappella del sacro cingolo, 1392-fresco95, consegna della cintola al proposto di prato 202.jpg|thumb|left|Chapel of the Sacred Girdle - fresco by [[Agnolo Gaddi]]]]
 
Next is the ''Assumption Chapel'', which was frescoed in 1435-1436 by the so-called Master of Prato and by a young [[Paolo Uccello]], who painted the ''Stories of the Virgin and St. Stephen'', completed by [[Andrea di Giusto]] in the lower section. They show a bizarre fantasy of enchanted figures caught in a wide range of brilliant colors, and surrounded by [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]]-like architectures.
 
In the main chapel, or [[chancel]], [[Filippo Lippi]] and [[Fra Diamante]] painted the ''[[Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist]]''. On the lower north wall are depicted the ''Obsequies of St. Stephen'', in which Lippi portrayed [[Pope Pius II]], set in a [[Palaeo-Christian]] [[basilica]], as an imposing figure in scarlet costume. On the right is the artist's self-portrait. On the opposite wall is ''Herod's Banquet'', showing a large hall in which [[Salome]] is performing her ballet, and the handing over of the head of [[John the Baptist]] to [[Herodias]]. The altar (1653) is by [[Ferdinando Tacca (1653)]].
 
The Manassei Chapel was frescoed by a pupil of [[Agnolo Gaddi]] in the early 15th century with ''Stories of St. Margaret and St. James''. The last chapel on the left, the Chapel of the Inghirami, houses a funerary monument attributed to Benedetto da Maiano and a stained glass window from the early 16th century.
 
 
<div align="center"><gallery>
File:WgaFra filippoFilippo lippiLippi herod- Herod's banquetBanquet - WGA13286.jpg|''Herod's [[FilippoBanquet'' by Lippi]]
File:Wga filippo lippi herod's banquet.jpg| Detail of Salome in ''Herod's Banquet''
File:Filippo lippi, affreschi del 1452-65, 01.JPG| [[FilippoFrescoes by Lippi]]
File:Prato, duomo cappella di Paolo Uccello volta.JPG|ceiling frescoes by [[Paolo Uccello]]
File:Fra Filippo Lippi - Herod's Banquet - WGA13286.jpg|[[Filippo Lippi]]
 
</gallery></div>
 
===Cintola Chapel===
The Cintola Chapel ({{lang-langx|it|Cappella del Sacro Cingolo}}) is located under the last arch of the north aisle, next to the counter-façade. It houses the ''Sacra Cintola'' or [[Girdle of Thomas]], the belt which, according to the tradition, was given to [[Saint Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]] by the Virgin Mary during the Assumption. It was brought to Prato in the 13th century.
 
The chapel has frescoes of ''Stories of the Virgin and the Cintola'' by [[Agnolo Gaddi]] (1392–1395), which are notable for their luminous colors. Also noteworthy is the panorama of Prato in the ''Michael's Return'' scene.
 
The 18th-century altar, which encloses the Cintola, is crowned by a marble ''Madonna with Child'' (c. 1301), and is considered one of [[Giovanni Pisano|Giovanni Pisano's]] masterpieces.
 
 
<div align="center"><gallery>
File:Duomo di prato, cappella del sacro cingolo 05 madonna di giovanni pisano 04.jpg|[[Giovanni Pisano]], ''Madonna and Child'' by Giovanni Pisano
File:Cappella del sacro cingolo, cancellata 06.JPG|Monumental Gate by Maso di Bartolomeo, Monumental Gate (dentali)
File:Cappella del sacro cingolo 15.JPG|Altar of the Cintola
File:Cappella del sacro cingolo 11 annunciazione di agnolo gaddi.JPG| [[Agnolo Gaddi]], ''Annuciation'' by Gaddi
File:Agnolo Gaddi e bottega, cappella del sacro cingolo, 1392-95, ritorno dalla terrasanta 04.jpg| [[Agnolo Gaddi]], ''History of the Cintola'' by Gaddi
</gallery></div>
 
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==External links==
* {{Commonscat-inline|Duomo (Prato)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070819160014/http://www.diocesiprato.it/pagina_template.asp?id=35&page_id=224&page_id2=238&id_pagina=238 Diocese of Prato - Cathedral page] {{itin iconlang|it}}
* [http://www.pratoartestoria.it/id95.htm] {{itin iconlang|it}}
* [http://www.toscanaviva.com/Prato/cattedrale_di_santostefano.htm] {{itin iconlang|it}}
* [http://www.po-net.prato.it/artestoria/it/?act=i&fid=1484&id=20070726114420060] {{itin iconlang|it}}
 
{{Paolo Uccello}}
{{Landmarks of Tuscany}}
 
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:10th-century churches in Italy]]
[[Category:12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy]]
[[Category:ChurchesBuildings and structures completed in 1365]]
[[Category:Churches completed in the 1360s]]
[[Category:Towers completed in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Prato]]
[[Category:Romanesque architecture in Tuscany]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy]]
[[Category:Basilica churches in Tuscany|Prato]]
[[Category:Cathedrals in Tuscany]]
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