Duomo

It is the main church of Nocera and until 1986 it used to be the mother church of the former Diocese of Nocera and Gualdo. It has undergone various renovations. Located on the top of the hill, it reminds us of the pagan worship which was substituted with Christianity: perhaps it once was the temple of the goddess Favonia from whom the tribe coming from Nocera Favoniense descended.

In the 5th century, when the diocese of Nocera was established, the temple was transformed into a church dedicated to Mary. The remains of the Romanesque portal which underwent another restoration around the 10th century are on the side entrance of the church, placed at the end of Via S. Rinaldo and enriched by a carved stone decoration of grapevines and animals in the archivolt band. Other remains, most certainly belonging to this cathedral, are a massive stone cross containing a carved cross, which is preserved in the diocesan museum. After the destruction of Nocera by Frederick II in 1248, the church was abandoned and only in 1448 it was rebuilt on the ancient foundations.

Many various kinds of structural interventions were carried out after the earthquake to reinforce the church. The masonry showed serious lack of cohesion of the binders, and thus, interventions were made with the insertion of a series of tie beams to absorb the stress and strain of the Renaissance arches, as well as a metallic rim on the apse structure. Crossed riveted joints were installed on the entire bell tower and on the corners of the entire building, with inclined cross perforations; stainless steel bars and saturation of holes with anti-retraction mortar was carried out.

In consideration of the extent of the areas affected by the damage of the seismic event of 1997, which caused considerable structural instabilities and destructions, added to the degradation factors already present at the time of the earthquakes, preservative interventions on the decorations were finalized to ensure preliminary safety and consolidate unstable parts that were in real danger of falling. After that, the wooden support was reinforced, from the main structure to the rods, and finally the restoration of the plaster joints of the grout, by applying epoxy resin with a brush