The building, started in 1284, is the most beautiful monument in the city. It was erected close to the ancient city walls, incorporating a tower, which was later transformed into a bell tower.

Over the centuries, the Duomo was enriched with various masterpieces, some still preserved inside, others transferred to the church of "Santi Giuseppe e Pantaleone," and others lost or stolen.

Many restoration and transformation works have involved the Duomo.

On May 6, 1976, the violence of the earthquake seemed to end everything in a few moments: the Duomo resisted but suffered severe damage, and only the quick diligence with which it was shored up managed to save it from the subsequent shocks on September 15.

The monument was initially conceived differently: it was born under the influence of Romanesque art but grew slowly during a transitional period when Gothic art emerged and eventually prevailed.

With a slender and soaring design, based on daring balances, the Gothic style gave the Duomo majesty and elegance. It was completely finished around the year 1420. It measures a total of 45 meters in length, 21 in width, and a full 20 meters in height.

On the northern side, there is the monumental stone portal by Zenone da Campione (1376), a masterpiece of architecture and sculpture, known as the "porta moresca," the entrance for the Lords.

The main facade, the one to the west, is characterized by seven rose windows, a unique feature in Friuli.

The church was commissioned by the lord of Spilimbergo Walterpertoldo in 1284, and the first stone was laid on October 4 of the same year. The construction continued until about 1359, although the Duomo was only consecrated in 1453.

The irregularity of the building's plan is due more to the exploitation of existing structures and the conformation of the territory than to reconsiderations or reconstructions. In fact, the building was constructed against a city wall, and the bell tower was built on a portal of the same.

(Text: ViviSpilimbergo - Photo Denis Scarpante)

The facade is adorned with seven oculi and is extremely sober. The symbolic number seven recalls several texts of the Bible, primarily the lamb with "seven horns and seven eyes" from the Apocalypse of John. Two of the seven oculi, walled up in 1858, were reopened in 2011.

The north side of the Duomo, on Piazza del Duomo

The main entrance is not the one on the facade, but rather the portal made on the northern facade, which opens onto Piazza Duomo. This was created in 1376 by Zenone da Campione and was originally reserved for the entrance of the lords.

(Photo Denis Scarpante)

The interior consists of three naves. In the central nave, second bay, there is the Renaissance organ relocated here in 1981 after the restoration work following the Friuli earthquake. The original instrument, a 1515 work by Bernardino Vicentino from Venice, had been lost over the centuries and was restored by Francesco Zanin using period materials and methods. It is used for liturgy, concerts, and numerous recordings. The case, among the oldest in the world, is decorated with canvases and panels painted by Pordenone in 1525. The organ doors contain three depictions:

Assumption of Mary (closed doors);

Fall of Simon Magus (left open door);

Conversion of Saul (right open door).

On the parapet of the choir loft, there are five panels with the Stories of the Virgin, while in the side spaces, Pages are depicted.