The Santa Margherita Cathedral is the main church of Tarquinia. The main attraction in the church is the ceiling frescoes painted by Antonio da Viterbo on the vault of the apse.
Santa Margherita Cathedral Tarquinia
Address, opening times and ticket price
The address of the Duomo di Santa Margherita is Piazza del Duomo – 01016 Tarquinia. Admission to the cathedral is free. It is closed from noon till around 3 PM. The official name of the church is Concattedrale dei Santi Margherita e Martino.
History and description
The Duomo was built on top of already earlier constructions dating back to the 12th to the 14th century. The church was destroyed by a fire in 1643, after having been enlarged some years earlier by Bishop Bartolomeo Vitelleschi. Reconstruction was spread out over several stages. In the presbytery you can still see some elements that were there before the fire seriously damaged the building.
The architect Francesco Dasti was responsible for a 19th century restoration. The facade was restored by Pietro Magnani in the 20th century.
The interior of the church is rather unadorned, except for the beautiful ceiling paintings. It consists of three naves, separated by semi-circular arches.
What to see
The main attraction of the cathedral are the frescoes painted by Antonio da Viterbo (nicknamed “il Pastura”) depicting “Events in the Life of the Virgin” and painted between 1508 and 1509. This apse at the end of the central nave also houses the ancient main altar, which is made of multi-colored marble.
Piazza del Duomo Tarquinia
Apart from the northern side of the Piazza del Duomo, which is almost entirely taken up by the facade of the cathedral, the western side is also very picturesque. It is enclosed on the right by the bell tower of the Duomo itself, and on the left by one of the many towers embellishing the center of Tarquinia.