katedrala Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije, Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it serves as the seat of the Diocese of Dubrovnik. The building you see is a Baroque reconstruction raised after the earthquake of 1667 destroyed earlier churches on this site. Construction ran from 1671 to 1713, with the design traditionally credited to the Italian architect Andrea Buffalini and the completed work incorporating changes by other Italian architects and local builders.

Notice the entrance, framed by Corinthian columns, and the broad window with its triangular gable and balustrade. Niches in the façade hold figures of Saint Blaise and Joseph with the Child. Inside, the high nave, side chapels and dome create the cathedral’s grandest impression.

Above the main altar hangs Titian’s Assumption of Mary, a painting probably dating from 1552. The treasury preserves 182 reliquaries containing relics from the 11th to 18th centuries, including a richly worked representation of Saint Blaise’s head shaped like a Byzantine imperial crown. That collection also includes a relic of the True Cross and works associated with Titian, Padovanino, Palma il Giovane and Savoldo. The cathedral’s story is therefore written both in its rebuilt stone and in the sacred art preserved within it.