Overview
Destroyed by the 1908 earthquake, the façade is a twentieth-century reinterpretation of the Romanesque and Gothic styles. On the sides of the staircase, the statues of Saints Paul and Stephen of Nicaea are the works of Francesco Jerace. The interior, with three naves, preserves seventeenth-century tombs of the city's bishops, and a marble pulpit decorated with two travertine palms from the old Cathedral, still the work of Jerace.
Especially astonishing is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, decorated with fine polychrome marble inlays of Messianic manufacture, a remarkable canvas (Sacrifice of Melchizedek) by Messianic Domenico Marolì (1665) and statues of apostles by Calabrian artists. At the end of the right aisle, there is the remnant of an ancient column, the one linked to the legend of St Paul's cult: the saint could only continue preaching until a candle placed on the column was consumed. A gust of wind shook the flame and the column caught fire, allowing St Paul to continue supporting his teachings.
Via Tommaso Campanella, 46, 89127 Reggio di Calabria RC, Italia
