Cattedrale di San Giorgio

Cathedral Ferrara, Italy

The cathedral of San Giorgio Martire is the main place of Catholic worship in Ferrara, the mother church of the archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio. It stands in the center of the city, opposite the Palazzo Comunale, next to the ancient Piazza delle Erbe (now called Piazza Trento e Trieste), not far from the Estense Castle. It is connected to the Archbishop's Palace through a covered vault.

The cathedral today is no longer the parish church but is obviously the site of all the most important celebrations of the diocese: ordinations, pontificals, solemn funerals. In spring there is also the Blessing of the Palios, i.e. the four painted fabrics that constitute the prize of the four races of the Palio of Ferrara. Pope Urban III is buried in the cathedral. In November 1959 Pope John XXIII elevated it to the dignity of a minor basilica.