Cathedral of San Vigilio and the Council of Trent

The Cathedral of San Vigilio dominates Trento's main square, the Piazza Duomo, and is inseparably linked to the most famous event in the city's history: the Council of Trent. Built mainly between the 12th and 13th centuries in a Romanesque-Gothic style on the site of an earlier basilica dedicated to Saint Vigilius, the city's patron and an early bishop martyred around 400 AD, the cathedral combines a sober stone façade and rose window with a richly atmospheric interior. Beneath the present church an archaeological crypt preserves the remains of the early Christian basilica and the tomb of the saint. The cathedral's enduring fame, however, rests on the years between 1545 and 1563, when it and the nearby church of Santa Maria Maggiore hosted the sessions of the Council of Trent. Convened by Pope Paul III in response to the Protestant Reformation, the council met across twenty-five sessions over eighteen years, reaffirming Catholic doctrine, fixing the canon of scripture, reforming the clergy, and launching the Counter-Reformation that shaped Roman Catholicism for four centuries. Trento was chosen precisely for its position on the frontier between Italian and German lands, an imperial bishopric acceptable to both pope and emperor. Around the cathedral, the frescoed palazzi and the Neptune Fountain of Piazza Duomo, the medieval Castelletto fused to the church, and the underground Roman city all add depth to a visit. The cathedral remains an active place of worship and the symbolic heart of Trento.