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Basilica di San Francesco

Basilica di San Francesco

Bologna, IT

The Basilica di San Francesco is a 13th century Bolognese church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, owned by the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. Between 1397 and 1402, a new large bell tower was erected on a project by Antonio di Vincenzo. After the arrival of the French (1796), the church was deconsecrated and reduced to a customs house. Between 1886 and 1906, Alfonso Rubbiani supervised a restoration that returned the church to its original appearance but with a heavy rebuilding. The bombings of the Second World War caused further damage and collapse of the complex (facade, vaults and cloister), which was then restored.

Basilica di San Francesco

Basilica di San Francesco

Siena, IT

The Basilica of San Francesco was built between 1228 and 1255. It was enlarged around 1326 and in the 15th century, gradually transforming the Romanesque building into its present Gothic structure. A fire in 1655 destroyed much of the basilica's artwork. The interior was heavily modified in the 19th century.

Basilica di San Gennaro fuori le mura

Basilica di San Gennaro fuori le mura

Napoli, IT

The Basilica of San Gennaro fuori le mura was built near the catacombs of San Gennaro in the 5th century. The ancient structure is probably the result of the fusion of two ancient cemetery sites, one from the 2nd century containing the remains of Agrippinus of Naples (the first patron saint of the city) and the other from the 4th century, which housed the remains of St. Gennaro, at least until the remains were transferred in the first half of the 9th century. The building underwent transformations between the 9th and 15th centuries, while in the 17th century it was updated according to Baroque trends, becoming first a hospital for plague victims and then a hospice for the poor.

Basilica di San Giacomo Maggiore

Basilica di San Giacomo Maggiore

Bologna, IT

The Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore was founded in 1267 as a church of the Augustinian order. In the 19th century, the Augustinians gradually abandoned the convent of San Giacomo.

Basilica di San Giacomo Maggiore

Basilica di San Giacomo Maggiore

Bologna, IT

The church of San Giacomo Maggiore was built between 1267 and 1315 by the hermits of Saint Augustine. The church was definitively consecrated in 1344, after the construction of the apse. Between 1483 and 1498, the interior was remodelled: the roof was replaced by a dome supported by three vaults and new chapels. With the suppression of religious orders under Napoleon, the Augustinians were expelled. They returned in 1824 and left the convent of San Giacomo Maggiore in 1860, but continued to occupy the church.

Basilica di San Giovanni Battista

Basilica di San Giovanni Battista

Busto Arsizio, IT

The Basilica of St John the Baptist was built between 1609 and 1646. The bell tower, however, dates from the period between 1400 and 1418 and is the oldest part of the present building. The imposing façade consists of a lower order of twin Ionic pilasters, a portico with pediment with bronze bas-reliefs representing the life of St. John the Baptist (by Enrico Astori of 1908) and statues of St. Ambrose. The upper part of the façade was created between 1699 and 1701 by Domenico Valmagini, who gave it an oval window, a pediment, the statues of St. Peter, St. Paul and four prophets and the central statue of St. John the Baptist (by Siro Zanelli), which represents the highest point of the façade.

Basilica di San Giulio, Lake Orta

Basilica di San Giulio, Lake Orta

Isola San Giulio, IT

Little is known about the origins of the Basilica of St. Giulio. Recent excavations, however, have shown that a building was already there in the 4th and 5th centuries. The site is supposedly the place of death of Julius of Novara (Gulio di Orta), a missionary priest who converted northern Italy. Among other buildings on the island, the church, due to its antiquity, displays an interesting mix of styles ranging from Romanesque to Baroque.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

Basilica di San Lorenzo

Milan, IT

The basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore is a Catholic basilica in Milan. Built between the late 4th and early 5th centuries, it is among the oldest churches in the city. The edifice is considered one of the major monumental building of Roman times in Milan.

Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le mura

Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le mura

Roma, IT

The Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls was founded in the early 4th century by Emperor Constantine on the presumed site of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, who died in 258. In the 13th century, Pope Honorius III built a separate church, which was eventually joined to the old one during a renovation programme. From 1374 to 1847, the Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls was the residence of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The basilica was restored by the architect Virginio Vespignani from 1855 to 1864, who removed all the Baroque additions. On 19 July 1943, during the Second World War, the church was bombed by the Allies. The restoration lasted until 1948: the façade was rebuilt, but the frescoes on the upper parts of the façade were lost. The basilica houses the tomb of the statesman and father of Europe Alcide De Gasperi and five popes: Zosimus, Sixtus III, Hilary, Damasus II and Pius IX.

Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore

Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore

Naples, IT

The basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore is a basilica whose construction lasted from the 13th to the 18th century. The building houses the Museo dell'Opera di San Lorenzo Maggiore.

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