Page 112 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

110  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

Šibenik: Cathedral of St James
Katedrala sv. Jakova

It took Croatian and international experts several years to
restore Šibenik’s cathedral after its shelling in 1991. Its
original construction by renowned Dalmatian and Italian
artists began in 1432 and was completed in 1555. The
original project was entrusted to the Venetian Antonio Dalle
Masegne, who built the lower Gothic level. His successor,
Juraj Dalmatinac (see p24), designed the upper Renaissance
part of the sculptures by the doors, the 72 faces on the
outside of the apse, many of the capitals, the tomb of Juraj
Šižgorić and, along with Andrija Aleši, the beautiful baptistry.
On Dalmatinac’s death in 1475, the work was continued by
Nikola Firen tinac, who built the splendid presbytery with the
choir, the dome, the galleries and vaulted roof. The Adam
and Eve by the Door of Lions are by Bonino of Milan.

Transept
The transept is surmounted with a
square structure below the dome;
on three sides is an arch bearing a
statue. The stones were worked in
such a way that they fitted together
without the need for mortar.

KEY
1 The exterior is decorated with
72 sculpted human faces on the
cornice, the work of Juraj Dalmatinac
and his assistants.
2 The Dome, a unique structure
built of interlocking slabs of stone,
was badly damaged in 1991.
3 The barrelled roof, built, like
the rest of the cathedral, entirely in
local stone, is a tribute to the great
technical skill of the stone-cutters.
4 The Gothic doorway is
decorated with groups of sculptures . Presbytery
of saints ascending the arch, which is The finely worked stone stalls were made by Juraj
framed by two spires. Dalmatinac and Nikola Firentinac. Other sculpted
reliefs adorn the upper parts.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp228–30 and pp240–45

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