Two side chapels lie off the main crossing of the cathedral. The Cappella del Corporale, on the north side, was built between 1350 and 1356: it is two bays deep, with quadripartite vaults, decorated by Ugolino and his workshop, 1357-1364. The left wall depicts various miracles performed by communion wafers throughout the ages, and the right wall, the Miracle of Bolsena. In 1263, a young priest who doubted the miracle of transubstantiation -- the transformation of the communion wafer and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ -- was saying mass at Bolsena, on the shores of a lake a few dozen miles south of Orvieto. As he raised the Host toward the heavens, it began dripping blood onto the corporale (cloth covering the altar). The altar cloth instantly became a relic and was rushed to Pope Urban IV, who proclaimed the feast day of Corpus Christi. The relic resides in a huge gilded silver case designed in 1339 to mimic the cathedral facade and set with scenes of the Miracle of Bolsena and life of Christ i
work_description_source
Two side chapels lie off the main crossing of the cathedral. The Cappella del Corporale, on the north side, was built between 1350 and 1356: it is two bays deep, with quadripartite vaults, decorated by Ugolino and his workshop, 1357-1364. The left wall depicts various miracles performed by communion wafers throughout the ages, and the right wall, the Miracle of Bolsena. In 1263, a young priest who doubted the miracle of transubstantiation -- the transformation of the communion wafer and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ -- was saying mass at Bolsena, on the shores of a lake a few dozen miles south of Orvieto. As he raised the Host toward the heavens, it began dripping blood onto the corporale (cloth covering the altar). The altar cloth instantly became a relic and was rushed to Pope Urban IV, who proclaimed the feast day of Corpus Christi. The relic resides in a huge gilded silver case designed in 1339 to mimic the cathedral facade and set with scenes of the Miracle of Bolsena and life of Christ i
Description
false