Cattedrale di St. Peter and St. Paul
Djakovo, Croazia


Lighting designer Ranko Skansi, M. Sc., addressed to Targetti Poulsen to realize the lighting design of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul (Katedrala Svetog Petra i Pavla). Sometimes referred only as Cathedral of St. Peter, this Roman Catholic church in Djakovo is the biggest sacral building of Croatian historicism and the town's most famous landmark. Made in the typical Slavic red bricks, the Cathedral was built between 1866 and 1882 under Josip Juraj Strossmayer, who was at that time the Djakovo and Srijem Catholic diocese. Architects of the Cathedral are Karl Rösner and Friedrich von Schmidt from Vienna: the first didn’t live enough to see his work finished, so the second completed this real temple of Christianity adding Gothic details. The original building material was evidently the main difficulty that whoever was in charge of the lighting design should have face. Actually, bricks can be drilled only with extreme attention, because of the related risks of seepages of water and the sudden changes of temperature. For this reason special brackets were used to place all the lighting fixtures, in order to ensure a good fixing with a single hole in the wall. A large number of Targetti products were used for this complex project involving both the exterior and the interior of the Chathedral. Ranko Skansi opted for fixtures included in the main Targetti collection (Lineos, Icare, Foho Pro) but also for special collections such as Targetti Exterieur (Pyros and Nano Pyros, Mini Lini, Py Quad, Eden) , Light of Florence (Ara, Armilla, Bardi, Pendolo), Esedra (Evolution) and Neri (Series 800), one of the companies of the Targetti Poulsen Group. As for the exterior, the basic idea was to emphasize the architectural details of the Cathedral, underlining the different materials and elements featuring the whole. The final result is exciting: by night, the two towers stand out against the dark sky like two big bright candles, inviting everybody, even from a distance, to come and pray inside the House of God. To spare as much energy as possible, a complex system of management was introduced, so that whatever change of scenery becomes easy, by a simple touch of a button. The interior lighting was designed in order to guarantee different scenarios in accordance to the occasions and the greater or the lower solemnity of the moment. In this way, we have a soft lighting during the day, when no Mess takes place, while during the ‘normal’ Messes and the events of special importance for the Catholic rite, other lighting scenarios can be created. Ranko Skansi has imagined a solution also for the tourist sightseeing, when the central vault of the Cathedral and the fresco paintings of the naves are completely illuminated.