IT01_03_Eng

History:

The first construction of the cathedral dates back to 1044. The original construction, already with three naves, and probably in Lombard Romanesque style, was remodeled in Gothic forms at the beginning of the 15th century. The bell tower, built starting from 1420 was completed in 1543; a cemetery, already mentioned since 1192, occupied a large part of the square near the bell tower until 1826. In 1748, with the establishment of the Diocese of Pinerolo, the title of cathedral was removed from the abbey church of the Monastery of Abbadia, and attributed to the collegiate church of San Donato: in the period 1766-78, impressive restoration works were carried out which transformed the church in the baroque style. The church, already damaged by the earthquake of 1808, was completely restored at the end of the century according to the criteria of the time, which included the recovery of the original Gothic structure of the building, with very extensive reconstructions, including the facade which had been destroyed, and additions in 1887 of new terracotta details inspired by the decorations of the medieval buildings in the city. During the removal of the internal baroque superstructures, the medieval decorative apparatus was found to be unrecoverable, therefore an overall re-decoration of the church became necessary at the end of the 19th century.