medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Marjorie,
Torcello's Sta Maria Assunta is technically an ex-cathedral;
ecclesiastically is is a Basilica (don't ask me when it received that
designation). But it is commonly referred to as a cathedral (as indeed
it was when it received all the decor for which it is famous) and I was
following that popular use.
Since ex-cathedrals are commonly referred to as "cathedral", I don't see
how you can rationally infer from my so calling it that Sta Maria
Assunta "is apparently the cathedral of some diocese." Nor do I see how
San Pietro di Castello (the predecessor, we agree, of San Marco as the
cathedral of the diocese of Venice) comes into the picture here. The
area encompassed by today's Venice served as a refuge for various
mainland communities facing conquest by the Lombards and during the
Middle Ages housed several dioceses, only one of which was that of
Venice. Sta Maria Assunta was the cathedral of the diocese of Torcello
(initially, the diocese of Altino in exile); when the latter was
suppressed early in the nineteenth century, its churches passed to the
diocese of Venice.
Best,
John Dillon
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