The Cathedral of Santa Maria della Purificazione which stands in Piazza Duomo in the most ancient part of Termoli, is the main religious centre of the town.
It was built in the 11th century, two metres above road level, over the ruins of an ancient pagan temple dedicated to Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus. The Cathedral has undergone various restoration attempts over the centuries but has conserved part of its original Romanesque structure, along with the lower church, where the remains of San Basso and San Timoteo were discovered. The lower register of the tiered facade is the most ancient, while the more recent, upper part has a central rose window. Noteworthy are the blind double mullioned windows, capitals decorated with leaves alternate with forward-facing human figures and the decorated arches of the entrance portal. A nine-stepped staircase leads inside the church which has three naves with apses whose symmetry and use of arches recalls the Romanesque Gothic style. The crypt, part of the original church, conserves a sarcophagus with the spoils of San Basso, the remains of the architecture of the ancient facade, a 13th century marble slab and mosaic flooring.
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