10 Most Beautiful Churches in Italy
Cathedral of St. Agatha, Catania
One of the most stunning churches in Sicily, the Cathedral of St. Agatha is proof that miracles happen. After all, it remained standing through rebuilding efforts following earthquakes and eruptions brought on by active volcano Mount Etna. It is the home of the third-largest church bell in Italy.
St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Amalfi
With the Amalfi coast as its background, St. Andrew’s Cathedral is simply beautiful inside and outside. It features an Arab-Sicilian façade and Baroque interiors with 18th-century paintings that illustrate the life and miracles of St. Andrew.
Basilica of St. Anthony, Padua
This 13th-century, eight-domed basilica brings together different architectural
…show more content…
One of the church’s highlights is the Gothic frescoes about the life of St. Mary.
The Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Basilica of St. Francis consists of two churches, the Upper Basilica and the Lower Basilica in a Gothic-style and a Romanesque-style, respectively. One of its highlights is the High altar flanked by columns and topped by a marble slab from Constantinople.
St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice
The focal point of St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica is a grandiose example of Italo-Byzantine architecture, featuring an interior with gilded Byzantine mosaics and a floor with an intricate pattern of mosaic and marble. The mosaic-covered domes are recognizable everywhere in the city of Venice.
The Duomo of Milan, Milan
As the largest Gothic cathedral in Italy and the third-largest in the world, it’s no wonder that The Duomo of Milan took close to 600 years to build. It also has something to do with its more than 3,400 statues from its rooftop, 135 marble spires, 135 gargoyles, and 52 marble columns. Not to mention the magnificent altar designed by Renaissance architect and artist Pellegrino
Sitting right in the middle of Italy, in the small town of Assisi, sits one of the most grand and beautiful churches to ever have been built. Breaking ground in 1228, architect Maestro Jacopo Tedesco was set to design and build a masterpiece that would represent the life of Saint Francis but also house the remains of the one of the most important figures within Catholicism. Brother Elias, being one of Saint Francis’s trusted followers was put in charge of overseeing the construction by the Pope. He also helped with the overall look and design of the church mainly emphasizing on the lower basilica. The church was built on two levels. First being the lower basilica. This would act as a crypt or tomb that would house the remains of Saint Francis.
walls, there are paintings of the Life of the Virgin. On the bottom of the walls there are images of the seven ecumenical councils. The song “The Last Judgement” is painted on the west wall. Numerous figures of martyrs are painted on the pillars, and there are also many icons. There used to be an icon of “Our Lady of Vladimir,” but later on the icon was moved to St. Basil’s Cathedral so it wouldn’t be stolen because it was so expensive. There are icons of the Virgin Hodegetria, Saint George, Trinity. There is a large iconostasis, which is a screen bearing icon that separates the sanctuary from the nave, that occupies the whole wide wall of the cathedral.
In contrast to the tall spires one might expect when encountering a Roman Catholic Church, the Saint Mary Orthodox Church in East Brunswick, NJ is a relatively small, unprepossessing structure. It does not resemble a conventional Roman church or steeple; nor does it resemble the elaborate domed Orthodox Churches of kind I have seen in photographs of Russia. It is a square brick building with two relatively nondescript pillars flanking the front. What is noteworthy is the elaborate mosaic of Mary that adorns the front of the building. I have long heard that icons and images are a very important part of the aesthetics of Orthodox worship and this was confirmed by the sight of the building.
Next, we have the Pantheon a wonderful temple in Rome which is now a church called Santa Maria ad Martyres. The Pantheon was built in 27-25 B.C. by magistrate, Marcus Agripa to commemorate the victory of Actium over Antony and Cleopatra. Unfoaryanty, the original temple burned down in 80 AD and it was restored between 193-211 by emperor, Septiums and Caracalla. Later, when Christianity replace paganism in Rome, the temple was give to Pope Boniface IV 608 AD. The Pantheon was the first to be Christianized in Rome. The Pantheon is 142 ft. wide and 142 ft. in height it is shaped as a sphere sitting on a cylinder. The place is resting in a solid ring wall while the outside is covered in cantilevered brick. The porch is made of 16 monolothic Corinituan
While constructing both of these cathedrals there were sculptures created that represented narratives of theology and mysticism. Both were created for a place of worship that’s why sculptures and paintings of religious images were added. This showed a great respect for the belief in Christ and the surrounding believers.
Peter’s Basilica are architecturally different, yet they both unite those people who put their faith in the Catholic Church and into the hands of God by using these structures as propaganda. St. Peter’s Basilica is an excellent representation of Baroque and Renaissance style art and architecture due to the time period that construction began for this magnificent building. Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia is unique even for other basilicas and cathedrals built in the Gothic style. He brings together new ways of architecture and construction that make La Sagrada Familia such an interesting and outstanding structure years before its completion. However, despite the differences in appearance between St. Peter’s Basilica and La Sagrada Familia, they both share similarities that tell the story of Catholicism and bring visitors from different backgrounds and religions to one meeting
Some of the major art changes that occurred while Constantine was ruling was the building of churches. One of the most majestic examples of churches built during this time would be the Saint Peter’s Church, also known as St. Peter’s Basilica located in the Vatican City of Rome, Italy, 422-432. One of the most interesting architecture facts is that it was built in the shape of a cross. The interior was influenced by
Paul. The exterior of saint Paul consists throughout of two orders, the lower Corinthian, the upper composite. On the north and south border, the uppermost form is hardly a curtain-wall, not comparable with height of the hallway and cover up the flying buttresses that backing the clerestory of the nave. The post along the top was added against the choice of Wren, who desperately mentioned it that ladies expect nothing well work without the edging, The west front has a lower portico of twelve columns’ and an uppermost one of eight columns. The cathedral beaux arts architecture is characterized by rounded domes and arches. The church body is made of granite stone from St. Cloud, in shape of Greek cross. It has three front entrances rest under a monumental
The neoclassical exterior and interior of St. Isaac's expresses the traditional Russian-Byzantine formula of a Greek-cross plan with a large central dome and four subsidiary domes (sacred-destinations). One of the main feature of the Saint Isaac’s cathedral is the dome which reflect the influence of Roman architecture. Others feature of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral reflect from the Roman are pilaster the flat column , groin vault and arches. the entrance of the cathedral also can be observe a pediment and a relief sculpture and facade which are part of the Roman architecture. Influence from Greek include corinthian column, and friezes. Other features of Saint Isaac’s that were influenced by the Byzantine architecture included clerestory around the dome, the nave, gold decoration and
St. Peter’s Basilica is an Italian Renaissance Church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. Designed principally by Donate Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lerinzi Bremen. St. Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and is also one of the largest churches in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter’s is regarded as one of the holiest Christian shrines.
An example of Byzantine-style churches can be seen throughout Italy's great cities. A standout amongst the most popular is St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The amazing detail of craftsmanship both inside and
Ambulatory Basilica of Saint Denis, 1140 -44, is the birth of Gothic, thanks to Suger. It’s the first abbot during the 12th century. It’s very important because it known as a burial place of the royal family. Suger wanted to create architectural style that would express the growing power of the monarch. His idea was to open up the space to allow light flood through. One of many ways is the choir, the space behind the altar of the church. The choir had lights pouring through the windows. Structure of the basilica was the expression of holy Jerusalem, heavenly on earth. A more heavenly and spiritual place. He compare the light to being divine, furthermore for visitors to contemplate it to God. His inspirations came from a philosopher during
This mountainous structure is seen from about every point of Paris and beyond. From the front, you can see two towers jutting out of an ordinary street. The Cathedral also features large stained glass windows, that are one of the most beautiful features of the structures. From the side, you can see the long body of the Cathedral and the spire sticking out of the top. It is somewhat overwhelming being within feet of the structure, because of the immense height and width of the church. Looking at the back, one can clearly see the dome-like structures attaching to the organ room. From the outside, you can clearly see the sculptures depicting the scenes from the Catholic religion. The cathedral is gigantic, but it is easy to process all the sections because of the distinct styles of architecture. From an
During the time, Italy stood noticeably apart from the rest of the country in its expansion of this Gothic style in the late 13th century ("Italian Gothic"). Italy has always been known for its exquisite cathedrals, but one of the main attractions for European tourists today is the huge and exquisite Gothic cathedral in Milan (Tyler). It is an immense structure that sits in the middle of the city square (Tyler). The Milan Cathedral is thought by Italians to be the only cathedral to be equivalent to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome (Tyler). It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world (Tyler). The Milan Cathedral can comfortably fit 40,000 people and is 157 meters long. Only the Seville Cathedral is larger than the one in Milan (Hayes).
This source is a picture showing the San Lorenzo church, which was known as the Medici chapel. The San Lorenzo Church is originated in Florence in 1419. It also is the Tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici. Michelangelo makes an imprint on the San Lorenzo church by adding architectural designs and