Albi Cathedral – The Largest Brick Edifice on Earth
Largest Sacred Sites and Artifacts | April 1, 2010Oh! I actually thought it to be a pink fortress rather than a cathedral due to its giant external look from a distance. Nevertheless, it is really a cathedral, if you go in and look. Located on a hill over the Tarn River, the Gothic Cathedral of St. Cecilia in Albi was erected in the 13th century at the core of the Cathar country whose completion was only seen in the 15th century.
However, my thought of it being a fortress was true as it was originally a defensive one after a holy war against the impious Cathars by the Catholic Church.
My Visit
The Albi Cathedral is erected from solid brick with lancet windows, which ends at the west in a huge tiered and squared belfry. The tower with spherical cornered ramparts is crowned with a new octagonal area. It seems as broad as a nave. By the roof edges, you can see the white stone gargoyles of the 19th century. Further, forming its exterior part is the vast south porch with an old round tower and the intricate Gothic baldaquin above the south gate.
Talking about the Albi Cathedral’s interior, the religious art dominate its walls, dome, and side chapels and there are no side aisles. The choir is in an elaborate screen, while the pillars hold a myriad of sculptures. The 15th century choir screen is worth noticing due to its skilled carvings and painted statues – 33 Old Testament figures, 15 New Testament figures including 12 apostles (the Virgin, John the Baptist, and St. Paul), 70 angels, and 2 emperors (Constantine and Charlemagne above the north and south entry). What makes them so unique and attractive is the fine sculpting with minute details leading to good expressions and look.
Among all the decorations, the most alluring one is the grand mural of The Last Judgment on the spherical west wall of the nave. It is an exemplary work piece of the Late Middle Ages split into vertical and horizontal sections: the Blessed on the left, the Ruined on the right, Heaven on the top, the Resurrection of the Dead below, and Hell at the bottom. Note that there is no portrayal of Christ in Majesty, which is common to other similar medieval depictions. Incorporating the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins (left to right) – Pride, Envy, Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, and Sloth; you can see the underworld with many horrible demons and suffering humans. Other murals on the walls of the nave are also well decorated and have been rebuilt often.
In the Albi Cathedral, the frescoes of the dome form the largest Italian work whose backdrop is the deep blue sky. All of them collectively exhibit many patterns, pastoral episodes, and prime figures and events of both the Testaments. Out of these, the two zones are devoted to St. Cecilia, the patroness.
I could spot a myriad of side chapels beneath the painted buttresses out of which one holds a polychrome copy of St. Cecilia’s body belonging to Santa Cecilia in Rome. One more that I should mention here is the Chapel of the Holy Cross towards the north. The most exciting feature of this edifice is that was holding a remnant of the True Cross, now destroyed. Doesn’t matter if you can see it, but you feel lucky to be at such sacred places!
The founder of the cross from Jerusalem is the Mother of the Emperor Constantine, St. Helena, both of whose stories are shown on the walls. Further, images of Cardinal John Joffrey and his nephews Helion and John are depicted kneeling with Jerome, Cecilia, and John the Evangelist respectively.
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The Gothic cathedral which we see today was constructed in brick between 1282 to 1480 in the wake of the Albigensian heresy and the brutal crusade which suppressed it, with great loss of life. In the aftermath of the bloodshed, the cathedral’s dominant presence and fortress-like exterior were intended to convey the power and authority of the Christian faith.