The cathedral of Ales stands at the heart of the town on a large square accessible up a flight of steps.<\/p>\n
The cathedral is the diocesan seat of Ales-Terralba<\/strong> and was built on the ruins of a previous church in Romanesque style with single nave. The building was extended in the seventeenth century with the addition of wooden barrel vaults and a bell tower; the church was consecrated<\/strong> on 9 May 1688<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The facade<\/strong> has a curvilinear coping<\/strong> enclosed between two twin towers<\/strong>; these are decorated with suspended arches<\/strong> and crowned with domes<\/strong>. A portico<\/strong> complete with balustrade comes before the facade and unites the two bell towers.<\/p>\n The building presents a Latin cross<\/strong> plan, with a large single nave<\/strong> overlooked by two chapels<\/strong> per side; a large octagonal dome<\/strong> covers the crossing between the nave and transept. The interior is lavishly decorated with wall paintings<\/strong>, coloured plasterwork<\/strong> adorning the architectural elements and wooden<\/strong> and polychrome-marble altars<\/strong>. The presbytery<\/strong> is raised on steps and a balustrade enclosure with column-bearing lions<\/strong>; while above the deacon\u2019s doors, in the counter-facade, we can find the large, piped organ<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5633,"template":"","tipologia":[979],"categoria":[1023],"tematica":[1030],"class_list":["post-29272","place","type-place","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tipologia-chiesa-en","categoria-architectural-asset","tematica-architecture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n