Cattedrale di San Panfilo

Abruzzo


Slightly out of the centre, the Gothic-meets-baroque cathedral is like many things in Sulmona: understated and underrated. The fantastically restored interior guards some precious old artefacts, including a 14th-century wooden crucifix. The highlight, however, is a subterranean room (opened in 2009) containing the relics of hermit-turned-pope Pietro da Morrone (1215–96), including his slippers and a piece of his heart. The original church built here replaced a temple of Apollo and Vesta.


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