Gerace

Gerace stands on a rocky height above the Ionian coast of Calabria. Its commanding position and narrow streets lead to a great cathedral, one of the region's most important Norman churches. Built over an earlier Byzantine structure and completed in the twelfth century, the cathedral joined Greek and Latin traditions in a town that watched over the coastal plain below.

Earthquakes repeatedly damaged the church, including an earlier shock in 1456. Its massive structure nevertheless remained a landmark above the town. In 1783 the great Calabrian earthquake made the cathedral unusable, forcing services into a temporary shelter that remained in use for years. The damage left the bishop and townspeople with the difficult task of restoring the monument around which Gerace's religious life had long gathered.