Gaeta cathedral

Gaeta Cathedral stands on a terraced slope above the harbour in the old town of Gaeta, Latium. Built in the 9th century on the site of an earlier church, it became the mother church of the local archdiocese. The present seven-aisle structure dates from the 13th century, with later additions including a 17th-century apse and crypt by the Lazzari family. In 1848 Pope Pius IX raised it to a minor basilica, and in 1941 it was declared a national monument. The cathedral’s long history is visible in its architecture. The seven aisles rest on thirty-six columns, some added later to support the weight. A 1303 silver statue of St Erasmus, patron saint of Gaeta, was made for the millennium of his death. Fresco fragments in the seventh aisle date from late 14th-century restorations after an earthquake. The bell tower, begun in 1148, reaches its octagonal dome added in 1279. Inside, the wide nave leads to a 16th-century carved wooden choir and a 15th-century pipe organ. The crypt beneath the high altar holds relics of St Eupuria. The neo-Gothic façade, completed in 1950, faces the sea, while the original entrance once opened directly to the harbour. Below the cathedral, medieval basements once linked to the ducal palace show how the complex grew over centuries.