What to see
The current exterior is the result of a radical 19th-century transformation. On December 24, 1861, high winds blew down part of the facade's crown into the atrium. Mayor Salvatore Amatruda used this relatively minor damage as a pretext to strip away the 18th-century Baroque additions by Arcangelo Guglielmelli. Completed in 1891, Errico Alvino’s design rebuilt the front in a striped marble Neo-Moorish style with Gothic influences. Sixty-two wide, steep steps lead to a deep porch featuring delicate Arab-Moorish tracery, while the tall pediment displays "The triumph of Christ", a mosaic by Domenico Morelli. The adjacent Romanesque bell tower, constructed between 1108 and 1276, was historically purposed for defense. It features two- and three-light mullioned windows and an elaborate crown surrounded by four smaller circular towers, completely covered in interlacing green and yellow majolica tiles.
The interior follows a basilican plan with a transept and apse, heavily remodeled in the 18th-century Baroque style. Its 1702 boxed ceiling contains canvases by Andrea dell'Asta from 1710, depicting scenes like the Miracle of the Manna. The main altar is formed from the sarcophagus of Cardinal Peter of Capua, who died in 1214. The triumphal arch above is supported by two Egyptian granite columns, accompanied by twisted columns and two pulpits salvaged from a 12th-century ambo. The side chapels hold Renaissance and Gothic art, including a wooden group of the Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel to St. Fedele, a 16th-century reliquary statue of the patron saint, and the relic of St. Andrew's head in the Chapel of Reconciliation. Music is provided by a Mascioni opus 835 pipe organ with 40 registers. The 1208 crypt contains frescoes detailing the arrival of St. Andrew's body, alongside a bronze statue of the apostle by Michelangelo Naccherino, a marble St. Lawrence by Pietro Bernini, and a St. Stephen by a local sculptor.
Visiting
The cathedral's religious life centers around the relics of Saint Andrew, which were brought from Constantinople in 1206 during the Fourth Crusade by Cardinal Peter of Capua. The site's spiritual importance was such that St. Francis of Assisi spent two years here from 1218 to venerate the remains, founding the convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, later dedicated to St. Anthony. Twice a year during special celebrations, a gelatinous liquid known as the "manna of the saints" is said to drip from the bones in the crypt, and this substance is ceremonially collected in a glass.
Our editors' tip
While walking down the central nave, look closely at the heavy 18th-century pillars. One of them contains an exposed section that reveals an ancient, hidden Romanesque column, offering a rare glimpse into the medieval skeleton of the church. Also, just to the right of the back door, do not miss an intricate mother-of-pearl crucifix brought back from the Holy Land.