Cathedral of Casale Monferrato

The monumental hut façade is asymmetrical and framed by two side bells. On the sides of the main gate there are two columns on which are placed nineteenth-century copies of two statues representing respectively the Lombard king Liutprando and Queen Teodolinda, a tribute to the founders of the church.

The nineteenth-century bezel on the central door depicts Jesus in throne between St. Evasio, which offers Christ the model of the church, and Saint Lawrence with the graticola, patrons of the cathedral.

There, in front of the church, the inhabitants of the village of Sant'Evasio could strengthen religious faith and their civic conscience.

Then with the construction of the atrium, the façade, for reasons still not entirely known, began to manifest the first signs of an sudden weakness that made necessary the action of deturbing remedies, such as the abdomen of the two houses of canons, which served as reinforcement superstructures.

After this long obscurement, the facade, returned to new life by important nineteenth century restoration works, is the original one marked by the growing rhythm of the arches and bounded by the two svettanti bellanili, which today free, still force to raise their eyes towards the sky.

The imposing atrium or nartece, unique example of Romanesque architecture characterized by arditi intercrucies of arches in sandstone cones and clay bricks that intertwine with parallel pairs, is a complex articulation of space.

Built on the area of the ancient cemetery in front of the church, the atrium has since its construction a special configuration characterized by frontal and lateral accesses always open to public passage.

Two tunnels in the form of matrons, independent and accessible from the inside of the bell towers through spiral stairs, spread over the outside sides of the atrium. Connected by the tribune, closed by subject with arches and illuminated by large windows, they confer to the place a role almost exclusively social, very important in the political activity of the village in phase of full development.

Of particular interest the decorative elements hidden by plasters (returned to light after the complex two-year recovery work concluded in 2001), which from the studies present some parallels with the Portal of Glory of Santiago de Compostela, such as the frieze of the deer and the rose window of the primitive facade.

Roman columns have also been found in the gallery to the square. In light also a fresco of high age.

This unusual and enigmatic environment reflects a more social than religious identity. In fact, it is too big to be only a portico of protection and quite separate to belong entirely to the church, considered in its architectural configuration and in its distribution scheme characterized by a ground floor open from porches (which surrounded a large hall able to accommodate important public adunces) or place of reception of the pilgrim (as attested by ceramic basins on the facade), from an upper floor with loggia suitable more for furnishings than for common ones.

Destination to which the design act was imprinted since birth, special situation, but not surprising and extraneous to the conditions in which the Borgo di Sant'Evasio was located, extremely thickened and poor of urban spaces.

The reason for which the Church of Sant'Evasio takes place from that moment as a political symbol of the whole community.

Expanding the steps leading to the aisles is evident the difference between the nartece and the rest of the building, completion covered by the restoration occurred between 1857 and 1861 by the architect Edoardo Arborio Mella.

The space is divided into five narrow aisles. The perimeter walls of the church are filled with lateral altars, which have undergone many changes over time. The presbytery presents the mural paintings by Constantine Sereno in 1860-61 in neo-Byzantine style. The main altar, in polychrome marbles and the choir, with carved wooden stalls, date back to the first half of the eighteenth century^[2].

The organ tribune, the pulpit, the balustrade and the glass window with Saints Evasio and Lorenzo are from the 19th century. The canteen, sandstone, was in the past placed in the atrium. There are depicted Christ in almond with six saints and two devoted on his knees. It is not known the original use of the artifact, it can be thought that dates back to the 12th century. At the same century is dated also the ambo with Agnus Dei obtained from a fragment coming from the facade of the cathedral.

The Episcopal Chair in stone of Vicenza is the work of 1978 by architects Costantino Ruggeri and Luigi Leoni. On the left of the presbytery is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. Not present on the transept of the early church, the tiburium was raised after 1215 to form, together with the two facade bell towers, a singular trilogy of composition. Shot on June 5, 1544 by lightning, which lowered its upper part, was reduced in the first decades of the seventeenth century to the current height.

The crucifix, majestic for its size above two meters and for the weight of about 130 kg, represents a significant specimen of Christian iconography Christus Triumphans. Hanging from the triumphal arch, the sculpture, characterized by meticulous workmanship, was originally stolen in 1403 from the ancient cathedral of San Pietro di Alessandria, together with the relics of Sant'Evasio, by the mercenary captain Facino Cane^[3]. The latter had previously been taken away in 1216 by a coalition made up of people from Asti, Alessandria and Vercelli.

The crucifix is distinguished by the monumentality of the figure of Christ, which emerges vigorously from the cross. The eyes, wide open and devoid of iris or pupil, may have been originally completed by now lost pigments. The somatic characteristics, such as the straight nose and the tightened mouth, do not convey emotions but a solemn gravity, underlined by the erect and frontal position of the body. The figure shows slightly bent arms and open hands with detailedly sculpted fingers.

The crucifix is covered in a silver foil of less than the millimeter, except for the thong and crown, made of thicker copper foil. The detail of the crown, enriched by perforated elements and adorned with glass beavers and rock crystals, some of which are lost, gives an additional level of artistic detail to the sculpture. The walnut wood cross, painted with a pigmented dough, is adorned by copper foils with embedded gems of different invoice, visually enriching the work.

The text on the cross, "HICEST . IE/HSVS . NAZ/A . RENVS. RE/XIVDE . ORVM, engraved in copper foil and surrounded by a painted frame, highlights the religious and historical importance of the work. This element, along with golden strokes on dark paint, recalls the artistic techniques of the 12th century renane and mosane^[2].

The transfer of the crucifix from the cathedral Alessandria, a significant stage in its history, provides essential elements for its dating. According to historical sources, the cathedral would be built in the early seventies of the 12th century and proclaimed a episcopal seat in 1175, under the impetus of the Archbishop of Milan, Galdino Sala. From a stylistic point of view, the cross, which is presumed to be part of the original liturgical endowment of the cathedral, reflects the characteristics of the local Alexandrian art of that period^[3]. The stylistic analysis of the crucifix and comparisons with similar works, such as the cross of Abbess Raingarda in the basilica of San Michele Maggiore in Pavia and the Ottonian crucifix in the cathedral of Vercelli further supports this hypothesis and enriches the understanding of the cultural and artistic context in which the work was created. The technique of embossed plates applied to a wooden core, unique among the comparisons mentioned, represents an exceptional example of fusion between goldsmithing, sculpture and carving.

Overlooking the left aisle, it was built after 1764 on drawings by Benedetto Alfieri^[2], modified by Luigi Michele Barberis. Inside are the marble ovals with episodes from the life of S. Evasio by Giovanni Battista Bernero, the silver and crystal urn containing the relics of the patron saint. The fresco on the vault, with S. Evasio in glory, is by Giovanni Battista Ronchelli.

of the chapel of Sant'Evasio begins the path of the "Open Sacristy". In the bell-cell, ex sacristy of the cathedral, works of goldsmiths and textile artifacts of remarkable value are exhibited.

The route then leads to the Sacrestia, expanded with the addition of the apse in 1788 by the Master Bernardo Lombardi on the previous seventeenth century. Coevo is the altar decorated with marble statues and reliefs from the sixteenth-century altar of St. Evasio. The wooden choir, dated 1787, is attributed to Francesco Valeriano Dellala of Beinasc, and in the same years goes back the rest of the furniture. Along the walls there is a small gallery, including The baptism of Jesus by Gaudenzio Ferrari (1534 c.) and S. Evasio by Pietro Francesco Guala (XVII century)

The last of a series of restorations in view of the celebrations of the ninth centenary that of the sacristy presented for the feast of Sant'Evasio (12 November 2006), work conducted by Francesca Regoli di Gavi and Giovanni Bonari of Villanova, who has returned to the ancient splendor of time. In light of the bells of the 16th century altar of Bambaja, the ancient decorations, the fake windows, two angels.

On the right-hand house of the presbytery there is a canne organ, built by the Brothers Carrera-Collino in the 19th century and restored in 1994 by Mascioni. The instrument, with mechanical transmission, has two keyboards of 73 keys each: the lower one corresponds to theEco Organ and has 61 real notes; the upper one, however, corresponds to Grand Organ and has 68 real notes. The pedalboard, straight, has 27 pedals each corresponding to a real note. The exhibition consists of reeds from the register Main 16' of the Grand Organ and it is enclosed within a rich triphora with arches to the whole sixth.