Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Basilica of Our Lady of Begoña was built between 1511 and 1621 in a Gothic style. Damaged during the Napoleonic wars, the church was nevertheless restored.

This monumental neoclassical basilica stands out for the artistic wealth that it contains inside, with canvases by Goya or Zurbarán, as well as for its impressive dome, the largest in Spain and the fourth in Europe, after those of the basilica of San Pedro and the Pantheon, both in Rome, and that of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence.

This 11th century monastery was built on the site of a Roman temple after the expulsion of the Arab rulers from the area. The complex is dedicated to Saint Isidoro, a visigothic academic and theologian, whose remains currently lie in the complex. In 1188 the "Cortes de León" was held at the complex's cathedral, which is considered the first example of parliamentarism. Because of this, the complex is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

The minor basilica of Santa Engracia is a Christian chapel from the 3rd to 4th century. The current Plateresque building was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. After being partially destroyed under the siege of Zaragoza (1809), the reduced complex was restored after.

The Basilica of Santa María del Coro is a baroque basilica completed in 1774. The construction began in 1743 on an old Gothic church of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The Basilica of Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano is a Renaissance church built between 1516 and 1694 on top of an ancient church from the 5th century. In 1516, the architect Andrea Marchesi was commissioned to build the present building. The project, which is detailed in the outer portico of the complex, was interrupted at his death. In 1599, the church came under the direction of the Theatines, who completed the construction in the 17th century under the direction of Giovanni Battista Natali and Agostino Barelli.

Santi Cosma e Damiano is one of the oldest churches in Europe. Erected in the 6th century on the remains of a Roman temple, still visible today, the apse of the basilica has preserved mosaics of the time.

The Collegiate Basilica of Saints Gervasius and Protasius was first consecrated in 1118 by Pope Gelasius II during his visit to France. Restoration and transformation work began in 1606 and was completed on 2 June 1628, after twelve years of work, preserving the four-aisle structure. Further work was carried out in 1679 to allow for the construction of a new apse, which resulted in the cancellation of the earlier Gothic-Romanesque architectural aspect, taking on its present 18th-century appearance. Further substantial changes were made in the second half of the 19th century with the reconstruction of the interior and the new neoclassical façade by the architect Gio Batta Olivieri between 1852 and 1856.

The Basilica of Saints John and Paul, known as San Zanipolo, a Venetian contraction of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, is one of the most imposing medieval religious buildings in Venice. It is considered the Pantheon of Venice because of the large number of doges and other important people who were buried there from the 13th century onwards. According to legend, the origins of the basilica are linked to a vision of the doge Jacopo Tiepolo who, after dreaming of a flight of doves over a marshy area, donated it in 1234 to the Dominicans, who had been present in the city for more than ten years. The church was immediately built. The work was completed in 1343, but the embellishment work lasted almost a century longer: on 14 November 1430, the church was solemnly consecrated.

The Basilica of Santi Maria e Donato was founded in the 7th century. The church is a masterpiece of Venetian-Byzantine art, known for three things: its magnificent chevet, the mosaic of its semi-dome apse depicting the Orante Virgin (11th century), and above all its exceptional mosaic pavement reminiscent of that of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice (11th-15th centuries).