Casalmaggiore, Cathedral

The Cathedral of Santo Stefano, which is an example of Neoclassical architecture, was built around the half of the 19th century on the basis of a project by architect Fermo Zuccari.
The building, which was externally made in terracotta face bricks, has a pronaos composed of four columns, which can be accessed by means of a staircase. The cathedral has a Greek-cross central plan with side chapels, at the centre of which four pillars support a fifty-two metre high dome.
On both sides of the presbytery inside, the statues of the saints Peter and Paul by Albertolli are found, while the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament is decorated with an altarpiece by Malosso with the representation of the ”Last Supper”. The Church of Santa Chiara, dating back to the 16th century, also overlooks Piazza Marini. It is a polygonal Church with a double order of loggias, which belongs to a larger monastic complex and is today the seat of a training institution.