| Piazza Sabatini on which
there is one of the entrance to the Pope's Villa is delimited
on one side from the Cathedral's lateral prospect. The church
consecrated to the Albano Laziale's patron, San Pancrazio was
built according to the wish of Constantine, so that the increasing
number of persons living near the castrum could worship the Christian
religion. The Constantinian basilica with its Episcopal see were
destroyed by a fire during the pontificate of Leo III (795-816),
who ordered its restoration in "mirum in modum”.
During the following centuries both the town and the church
underwent several invasions: the first by the Romans in 1169,
then by Eugene IV (1431-1447) and Sixtus V (1585-1590). The
town had only 800 inhabitants obliged to pay service to the
Savelli and the church, notwithstanding the restoration work
ordered by Honorius IV (1285-1287) and by the Cardinal Pietro
de Foix was like a stable consisting only of a nave.
In 1597 its floor and its roof were restored according to the
wish of the Cardinal Ottone Truches; In 1570 the Cardinal Guido
Feltri della Rovere ordered to repair the sacristy and the high
altar; in 1594 the Cardinal Bonelli established here the chapter
and ordered new ornaments and vestments; in 1688 Cardinal Flavio
Chigi, the towns' bishop, ordered new restoration works,
and the construction of a churchyard and a new sacristy following
Carlo Fontana's plan.
The radical change of the structure is the result of the works
ordered by the Cardinal Ferdinando D'adda who desired
to give a definite form to the cathedral and ordered also to
cover with bricks the pillars of the nave. When he died, the
Cardinal Fabrizio Paolucci tried to follow the intentions of
his predecessor, and in 1722 the architect Carlo Buratti designed
its façade. The mass however was celebrated only in the
nave as the right aisle was used as parsonage and as Episcopal
chancellery and the left one as graveyard.
After five years of works, on the 5th May 1720 the Church was
consecrated again. On the 3rd January 1826, after new restoration,
it was possible to celebrate the mass in the eastern aisle.
The works in the Cathedral continued for long time, also thanks
to the generous contribution of common people which raised funds
to promote again a restoration in 1854. Further works were effectuated
in 1913 giving to the cathedral its present form: the coffered
ceiling was eliminated and the pillars reinforced. The belfry
was rebuilt during the first years of the 12th century according
to the wish of Albano Laziale's bishop, Cesare d'Estrees.
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