The Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral

Anyone arriving in Bolzano by hire-car can’t fail to be immediately impressed by what is Bolzano’s chief landmark and most striking building, the Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral.  Rising above the rest of Bolzano’s medieval buildings, this remarkable church is simultaneously a gem of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and a symbol of the southern and northern influences in Bolzano.  The original Romanesque structure was consecrated in 1180, before being later embellished in the Gothic style. It is built from striking red and yellow sandstone, and features fearsome gargoyles reminiscent of Notre Dame in Paris, and which are considered masterworks of High Gothic architecture.

One of the finest achievements of the art of Gothic stonemasonry is the cathedral’s steeple, completed in 1517, which is visible from almost anywhere in the whole of Bolzano.  Such was is the intricacy of the stonework and height of the steeple it is said that the medieval inhabitants of Bolzano were afraid to sound the church’s bells for decades, for fear that it might collapse.  This is truly both a rarity and a gem, and worthy of a couple of hours of any visitor’s time.