The Cathedral Basilica of Massa, dedicated to Saint Peter and to Saint Francis of Assisi, is the main building of the chief town and it has also become the most ancient after the destruction of the Collegiata of San Pietro in Bagnara carried out at the beginning of the XIX century. It was built in the XV century.

Today, the cathedral rises in a place where there was a ancient church which had been part of a Franciscan monastic complex. The construction works of the church and of the monastery started in 1477 at the request of the Marquise Taddea Pico della Mirandola, Jacopo Malaspina's wife, after she got the approval by Pope Pius II. Nevertheless, scholars debate over the origins of the dome. Some think the it was built in 1389 as an ancient gravestone still kept here testifies.
In the first half of the XVII century, the church of Saint Francis underwent serious damages because of a storm. Monsignor Lorenzo Cybo financed its repair works and he also seized the opportunity to organize its enlargement works, such as the unification of the parish and of the adjacent Chapel of the Stigmata along the right aisle where an entrance was created. In 1675, the Duke Alberico II decided to build the family chapel with the crypt beneath near the church.
In 1807, during the Napoleonic occupation, the demolition of the centuries-old Collegiata di San Pietro, set in the currently-called Aranci square, was carried out. Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon's sister who sat on the throne of the newly born Principality of Lucca, Pimbino and Massa, settled that the parish and the clergymen moved to the church of Saint Frances that then was also dedicated to Saint Peter. After Massa was nominated Episcopal seat with a bull by Pope Pius VII of 1822 the building returned to be a "cathedral basilica" from "minster church". Therefore, further enlargements were required and performed in 1837.
The modern façade was built in 1936 based on Cesario Fellini's plan. Inside the cathedral, very important works are kept. Among them, there are a triptych by Bernardino del Castelletto, the polychrome earthen Presepe by Benedetto Buglioni and more paintings by Pinturicchio. Quite obviously, there are works in marble that comes from the nearby mines of Carrara, such as the Altars by Bergamini and the altar piece by Andrea and Tommaso Lazzoni. More precious works are kept in the nearby Museum of Sacred Art.