‘Une Machine a prier' Cosenza's Cathedral and the 'Liber usuum ecclesiae cusentinae'

Cosenza’s cathedral is the most representative building of XIII cent. In Calabria. It was consecrated in 1222 in the presence of the emperor Fedrick II and many important bishops. The main promoter of the church’s reconstruction was archbishop Luca. He ruled the archdiocese from 1203 to 1227 and he is one of the most important and influential bishops of his age. It’s relevant to point out that while the cathedral was in construction Luca started to modify and innovate the liturgy. Luca achieved his goal in 1213 when he wrote the «Liber Usuum ecclesiae cusentinae» where he describes the new liturgy that should be «Ad modum aliarum cathedralium». The intervention will focus on the interrelationships between architecture and rite trying to analyze the cathedral on the light of the liber Usuum.