Cathedral of the Assumption

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Melfi is a Baroque reconstruction of an older Norman church, rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1694. The interior is spacious and ornate in the southern Italian Baroque tradition, with painted ceilings, elaborate altars, and a strong sense of the Counter-Reformation piety that shaped church architecture across the Mezzogiorno.

The medieval bell tower that survived the earthquake stands as the cathedral's most distinctive exterior feature — a tall, slender Romanesque campanile with a spire that shows Arabic decorative influences, characteristic of Norman architecture in the south, where Muslim craftsmen worked alongside Christian builders. Worth a brief visit when touring the old town.

The cathedral is in the historic centre, a short walk downhill from the Norman castle.

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The original cathedral at Melfi was destroyed in the 1694 earthquake that levelled much of Basilicata. The bell tower, however, survived — a Romanesque campanile dating from the 12th century, with a Byzantine-influenced pyramidal spire. It stands slightly apart from the rebuilt cathedral, a reminder of what Norman Melfi looked like before the earthquake.

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