Cathedral of the Diocese of Bolzano conceals the vestiges of an early Christian, a late Medieval and a Romanesque basilica (1180). After one century the site has opened into a new imposing construction, completed around 1420, synthesizing, over a few decades, the intervention of Lombard mastery with the Gothic style of the Suevian mastery. The bell tower, with an open fretwork spire in sandstone, which stands 65m tall, was built by the Suevian architect, Hans Lutz von Schusseried, between 1501 and 1519.
The beautiful Crucifix was made by the Veronese School. The Romanesque portal is located on the western side with prothyrum and column-bearing lions and the rose window (restored after the bombings of the Second World War). The fresco of Mother and Child is attributed to Friedrich Pacher (1475).
The Gothic sandstone pulpit was created by Hans Lutz von Schussenried and the baroque altar in polychrome marble (1710-1720) by the Veronese Ranghieri and Allio.
In the churchyard south of the building you can view the beautiful monument to Peter Mayr.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.