The renovation of Northern Italian cathedrals between the 11th and 12th centuries: the state of current research and unanswered questions

This article examines the current state of research on a selected number of Romanesque cathedrals in northern Italy. The cathedral of Modena in particular has been the subject of detailed studies because of its wealth of documentary evidence, including the names of the architect and main sculptor as well as of other artists active in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This article studies Modena Cathedral vis-à-vis its predecessors and the Medieval city planning, while some architectural features, including its Classical inspiration, are also analysed. Subsequently, several other cathedrals in Emilia Romagna, including Ferrara, Parma, and Reggio Emilia, are studied in light of recent investigations and new findings, and Cremona and Piacenza are analyzed in their mutual relationship. Finally, attention is paid to the cathedrals of Vercelli, Pavia, and Bergamo, which have preserved most of their pre-Romanesque structures, and which have been subject to only a few updates. The article ends with some comments on the prospects of a multidisciplinary approach to analysing such complex architectural monuments as Romanesque cathedrals.