Year of inscription on the UNESCO list: 2000
The cathedral of St. Jacob in Šibenik holds to be probably the most important architectural achievment of XVth and XVIth century in Croatia. Due to its exceptional values this gothic-rennaisance monument was enrolled on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000.
In the year 1298 a diocese of Šibenik was founded. Small existing church of St. Jacob proved to be inadequate to serve as a cathedral and a decision had been made for the church and the city to finance a construction of a new cathedral. The construction itself was supposed to have begun in 1402, when the old church got damaged in the invasion of Venice. However, due to political disturbance, plage and a fire that struck the town, the construction got delayed until 1431 when the cornerstone finally got laid. With a few suspension the construction lasted over a hundred years.
In the year 1428 the city council of Šibenik decides for the new cathedral to be built at a site in the northern part of the town, where the church of St. John lies today. Bonino of Milan is appointed as head architect, but had, by the time of his death, only suceeded in finishing some statues of the main portal. After his death, the Council changes its decision and moves the location of the new church at the site of the existing church of St. Jacob. New head constructor, Francesco di Giacomo changes the project of Bonino of Milan and the construction was under way in 1431. The work of Francesco is continued by Venetian masters of Antonio di Pierpaolo Busato and Lorenzo Pincino. Due to their problems with foundation installment in the early 1440s the construction is suspended once again. The city Council signs a new contract with Juraj Matejev Dalmatinac of Zadar in 1441.
Begining his work on the cathedral, the architectural genius of Juraj Dalmatinac creates o project of a tri-naval cathedral incuding a baptistry int the foundations of the south apse (built in 1443 and 144) and an adjacent sacristy and treasury (build from 1450 and 1454). At the same time the lateral walls of the edifice are raised to the level of the arches. This stage of construction, that ended in 1455, is characterized by an adaptation and modernization of the previous project and a number of inventive architectural and decorative solutions. Some of them incude the so-called mounting technique of construction by using large stone blocks and a crest of sculptures of human heads on the exterior of the cathedral.
In the second stage of construction, lasting from 1461 to 1473, the work is concentrated on the polygonal wall of the sanctuary. After Jurajs stay in Dubrovnik new, structurally mature and clean details emerge in his work. In the final part of this stage, Juraj creates a relief of St. Jeronim in the desert at the nortern wall of the chapel. Juraj Dalmatinac died in 1473.
The third and final stage of the construction of the cathedral begins in 1475 when Nikola Ivanov of Florence is appointed the head architect. Nikola finds the project built to the upper level of side wall of the sanctuary and side navals, but mutually inbalanced and separated, with many flaws in the ground plan of the choir. By the year 1477 Nikola had managed to finish the project of the upper part of the cathedral. The earlier concept of open rooftop is abandoned and a construction of the roof is begun with side chapels of the sanctuary. Furthermore, Nikola manages to level the height of the sanctuary with the height of the choire, visually separating the previously built parts from his new construction of the upper part.
By modifying the mounting technique of Juraj Dalmatinac, Nikola begins with the construction of the choire roof - aligning long stone panels and creating a barrel-shaped rooftop. In these creations a number of complex engineering solutions have been implemented. The roofs of side chapels of the sanctuary have been finished by the year 1479 while the roof and the dome of the sanctuary have been finished ty the year 1499. Unfortunately, Nikola of Florence didn't live to see his work finished. He died in the year 1506. Nevertheless, the rest of the roof construction was completed entirely according to his project, over the period of the next 30 years.
