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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The pro-Cathedral Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Calvi, located in the citadel of this Corsican city, has its origins in the 13th century, although the current building dates mainly from the first half of the 17th century. Rebuilt in 1570 after partial destruction, it adopted a classical Baroque style and became pro-Cathedral in 1576, when Pope Gregory XIII established the seat of the bishops of Sagone. This status continued until 1802, when the diocese was abolished and attached to that of Ajaccio. The church is a central place of local religious traditions, especially during the processions of Holy Week, where statues such as Christ of the Miracles or Our Lady of the Rosary play a major symbolic role.

The cathedral's architecture reflects a mix of styles, with a sober facade pierced by a unique portal and a Greek cross structure surmounted by a round dome with a lantern. Inside, richly decorated with polychrome marbles, houses classified works of art, including italianist statues (such as the Black Christ of the 15th century), Baptist fonts of the 15th and 16th centuries, and baroque paintings. The building, partly transformed into a fort, today reveals only its western facade and its south-eastern part, bearing witness to its turbulent history, marked by destruction during the sieges of 1555 and 1567.

Ranked a historic monument since 1920, the pro-cathedral remains an identity symbol for Calvi. Its furniture elements (organs, embroidered chasubles, antependiums) and its processional traditions, such as the exceptional release of Christ from the Miracles in 2020 to counter the Covid-19 pandemic, illustrate its anchor in Corsican spiritual and cultural life. The building, owned by the municipality, embodies both a religious, architectural and historical heritage, linked to the evolution of the episcopal power in Corsica under the influence of Genoese and French.

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