Cathedral of Sant'Anastasia

The Cathedral of Sant'Anastasia, in the historical centre of Santa Severina, one of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages in the province of Crotone, is among the most important religious buildings in the region.

The Cathedral of Santa Severina, named after the patron saint of the same name, was built at the behest of Archbishop Ruggero di Stefanuzia between 1274 and 1295, in the medieval village of the same name. All that remains of the original construction is the ancient pointed arch portal, at the centre of which is the bishop's coat of arms surmounted by a window. The rest of the façade dates back to the 18th century.

On the left side rises the imposing four-storey bell tower. The interior features 17th-century Calabrian marbles with a central marble tablet depicting Jesus among the Doctors and a 15th-century crucifix in the first chapel of the right aisle, the same chapel on which four tombstones from the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows are walled.

The Cathedral of Sant'Anastasia is rich in sacred art objects, including monstrances, gold-rimmed chalices and the saint's precious relic, kept in the silver urn that Robert Guiscard donated to the city.

To the left of the Cathedral of Sant'Anastasia is one of the most important religious monuments in Calabria: the 10th-century Byzantine Baptistery, the oldest building in the region in its style, at the centre of which is the marble baptismal font surrounded by frescoes dating from the 10th to the 12th century.