Ivrea - Duomo di Santa Maria

The first Christian church was built here at the site of a Roman temple in the 4th century. A tree nave basilica existed in the 9th century. A Romanesque cathedral was built, when Bishop Warmund (= Warmondo) had his episcopal see here, end of the 10th century. It is known, that this church had a "westwerk", following the Ottonian architecture, popular at that time north of the Alpes.

Alterations and rebuildings were undertaken in the 13th, 15th and 16th century. In 1785 it was rebuilt again in a Baroque style, but parts of the ambulatory and the large crypt below the choir were not demolished and are still originating from the Romanesque church.

Right in the center of the crypt stands this a large Roman sarcophagus, that, following the inscription, was created for the chief officer Atecio Valerio in the 1st century.

Since the 10th century for the the sarcophagus was used to store the relics of San Besso (= Saint Bessus), who may have been a soldier of the Theban Legion lead by Saint Mauritius, or a martyred local shepherd. Different legends tell different stories.