Crema, Cathedral

In Lombard Gothic style, construction of the church began in 1284 and ended in 1341, after the destruction of the former building by Federico Barbarossa.
The high "fying" façade of the cathedral dominates the harmonious square in front of the Duomo of Crema with its three arches and numerous decorative elements: the splay of the elegant central doorway; the lateral mullioned windows and the rose window; the white marble of the rose window, of the columns of the loggia, of the lunette, and of the twisted columns that form the doorway; the openings of the side arches and the pensile arches that run along the loggia, all gracefully set in the smooth surface of the bricks. To the sides, the basilica plan with three naves is evident; the central one supported by rhythmic rampant arches. Inside the solid pilasters the cross vaults rise and appear multiplied by the ribs in brickwork, as if to emphasize the spiritual tension that distinguished the entire Middle Ages. The decorations that grace the exterior are here attenuated and the atmosphere created is one of deep meditation. From the crypt, we enter the remains of the original church from the 8th century. Here there are works by Vincenzo Civerchio (painter and sculptor, 1470-1544), one of the most noted painters from Cremona: an "Annunciation", a composition in tempera that surmounts the organ in the apse; the statue of San Pantaleone, the patron of the city, in the chapel that bears his name; an "Assumption" and a panel with "Saints Sebastion, Rocco and Christopher", commissioned from the painter by the Corporation of Merchants in 1518; an uncompleted work by Guido Reni (Bolognese painter, 1575 - 1642), "St. Mark in Prison Visited by the Redeemer", from the 17th century.