Cathedral of San Cassiano

the first cathedral was erected in the year 708 under the Bishop Vincenzo and stood in the same position of the current cathedral. It was built in the Romanesque style and had three naves supported by columns of marble whose capitals bore the effigy of the aquatic plaice, representing the coat of arms of the town, until, in 1200, the building was remodeled in gothic style and so he remained until 1659. Due to the continuous restorations which was subjected and the age of the building, in the same year it was decided to its demolition in such a way as to obtain a new cathedral whose construction began on 25 March 1659 under the thrust of the cardinal linked Giuseppe Renato Imperiali. Despite this, the laying of the first stone up to the excavations of the foundations and the masonry work passed over 35 years, being solemnly consecrated on 12 April 1740 by Bishop John skylight wells, always keeping the faith to the original project of the architect Angelo Cerruti who conceived in baroque style. Finally, on 13 October 1961, the cathedral was elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII.

The facade is entirely in brick, except for the capitals of the pilasters, hooves of pedestals and the median cornice that are all in Istria stone. Adjacent to the cathedral stands the bell tower, the work of the architect Giorgio Fossati, built in 1751 but ruined on the ground a few years later, in 1757. It was later rebuilt and completed only in 1868 on the huge base of the old bell tower remained unscathed by the collapse. The internal structure of the cathedral with a nave with six chapels for side is on the inside of which are valuable paintings by artists of the Bolognese school of painting as Biagio Bovi (XVIII century), a wooden crucifix of the sculptor ferrarese Germano Cignani and the sculpture of Santa Lucia in the Venetian school (XV century). Of remarkable interest appears the apse decorated with a scenic eighteenth-century altar in marble with winged angels and with the wooden statue of the patron saint San Cassiano. All around the apse also runs a wooden choir in a double order of stalls, gift of the bishop of arcane. Finally, placed above the entrance portal is the organ built in Modena in 1728.