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Basilica of Santa Croce

Basilica of Santa Croce

Lecce, IT

The Basilica of Santa Croce is a marvel of Lecce's Baroque architecture, a form of Baroque that was influenced by Spanish Plateresque architecture. The first phase of construction, which began in 1549, was completed in 1582 and saw the construction of the lower part of the façade, up to the balcony. The dome was completed in 1590 and a second phase of work, begun in 1606, saw the construction of three more decorated portals, the construction of the upper part of the façade and the rose window.

Basilica of Santa Eulalia

Basilica of Santa Eulalia

Mérida, ES

The Basilica of Santa Eulalia was, according to researchers, the first Christian temple to be built in Hispania after the peace of the emperor Constantine in 313. After the reconquest of Mérida by Alfonso IX, which put an end to the Arab yoke (8th-13th century), the present church was built in the 13th century, on the same plan as the original basilica and using some of the same materials. Excavations carried out in the basement of the basilica since 1990 have brought to light the impressive underground enclosure, which can now be visited. In this crypt, where important Roman and Visigoth remains have been discovered.

Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta

Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta

Aquileia, IT

The Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia was the spiritual centre of the ancient Patriarchate of Aquileia and played a key role in the evangelisation of much of Central Europe in the early Middle Ages. Its oldest remains date back to the 15th century, the present basilica was built in the 11th century and renovated in the 13th century. The Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia and the archaeological area are included in the World Heritage List established by UNESCO in 1998.

Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

Roma, IT

The construction of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri was entrusted by Pius IV (1560-1565) to Michelangelo, who was also working in St. Peter's Basilica at the time. The work continued after the death of Michelangelo by Giacomo Del Duca. The work continued until the middle of the 18th century when the side entrances to the transept were closed by the Chapels of San Bruno and Niccolò Albergati. With the unification of Italy, the Carthusian fathers were expelled from the church and its convent; the convent area was first left to the military, then to the friars of St. Francis of Paola and finally to the diocesan clergy. With the marriage of Vittorio Emanuele III, this basilica became a state church, a rank that it still retains today.

Basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata

Basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata

Parma, IT

The Basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata was built between 1521 and 1539 and has been the seat of the Constantinian Order of St. George since 1718. On the site there used to be an oratory built as early as the 14th century. At that time, a painting of the Virgin was painted on the façade of the oratory, which soon became the object of devotion, leading to the construction of a larger building.

Basilica of Santa Maria di Campagna

Basilica of Santa Maria di Campagna

Piacenza, IT

The Basilica of Santa Maria di Campagna is a Renaissance church built between 1522 and 1528. The present church was built to replace an old small oratory. The structure of the church was only modified in 1791, with the extension of the arm of the cross which houses the presbytery, and the construction of the present choir behind the high altar. The church houses many works of art, including several early 16th-century Mannerist paintings by Pordenone, and Baroque paintings by Guido Reni and the Procaccini family.

Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Roma, IT

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin is the result of the enlargement under Pope Hadrian I (772-790) of an ancient Christian place of worship attested since the 6th century. It also underwent a major renovation in 1123, making it one of the few examples of 12th-century sacred architecture in Rome. It is known to house the Bocca Della Verità. The 8th-century crypt has a rectangular plan, with a flat ceiling, and a tripartite hall with naves of four bays each with Corinthian columns. A peculiarity of this crypt is the transept, one of the rare cases of reintroduction of this element, typically Constantinian, into Carolingian architecture.

Basilica of Santa María la Real

Basilica of Santa María la Real

Cangas de Onís, ES

The basilica of Santa María la Real was designed by Roberto Frassinelli and built between 1877 and 1901 by the architect Federico Aparici y Soriano, in a neo-Romanesque style, entirely in pink limestone. In 1777 a fire destroyed a previous church, which was adjacent to the Holy Grotto where the Virgin of Covadonga, commemorating the Battle of Covadonga (718 or 722), was venerated.

Basilica of Santa Prassede

Basilica of Santa Prassede

Roma, IT

The basilica of Santa Prassede was founded in the 8th century, but it is possible that it has older origins. The Roman senator and Christian convert Pudente (1st-2nd century) owned a villa, the remains of which are nine metres below the present basilica, in which he hid persecuted Christians. In 1198 Pope Innocent III awarded the church to the monks of Vallombrosa, who still own it today. Due to many modifications, the church had lost its original appearance, but during the 19th and 20th centuries several interventions were aimed at recovering the medieval structures by destroying the later additions.

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