The most important sacred building in Bologna is the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Pietro. There is news of the church as early as 1028: it was flanked by a Roman palaeum bell tower, circular in base. Destroyed by a fire, the church was rebuilt in 1184. In the 16th century the Cathedral of San Pietro was restored in a particularly invasive way, so much so that the vaults collapsed. The building, as we can admire it today, dates back to the seventeenth century. Of interest are some of the works of art guarded by the building: the annunciation of Ludovico Carracci, the Crucifix made of cedar wood, built in Roman times, a sculptural group depicting the dead Christ with the weeping Marie, by Alfonso Lombardi. The bell tower with a circular base is the only architectural element of the structure that was never destroyed. Around it, however, a new one was built, inside which today the visitor can discover traces of the original one. Of interest is the concert of bells kept in the bell tower.

map