Italy—Emilia Romagna and Tuscany—6

 

Basilica Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Piratello, Imola, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a man in 1483 requesting that a church be built at this site.  This was the third time Mary identified herself as the Immaculate Conception.  The church was consecrated in 1492 and was given to the Franciscans.  It was enlarged in the 16^th Century and restored in the 19^th Century.

All pictures are from a local source.

St. Mark’s Basilica, Beretto, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1956.

The basilica was built in the late 1800s to replace an earlier church.

From Wikipedia.

St. Peter’s Basilica, Modena, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1956.    

The basilica is part of a Benedictine monastery that was founded in 983.  The current church was completed in 1518.  In front of the church, the column called Saint Peter’s Cross dates from before the 11th century.  The pipe organ dates to the 16^th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

 

 

Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Ferrara, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1956.

A Gothic church was built here in the 14^th Century to replace a 13^th Century church.  This was later replaced with the current Renaissance style church.  The church has several frescoes by various artists.

 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

 

Basilica of St. Frediano, Lucca, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1957.

A church on this site was built by St. Frediano in the 6^th Century.  The current Romanesque church was a renovation of the original church done in the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th Centuries.  The church contains the burial sites of St. Frediano and St. Zita (whose body remains uncorrupted).  The baptismal font dates to the 12^th Century.

 

 All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Volterra, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1957.

The basilica is the cathedral for the Diocese of Volterra.  The church was built in the 12^th Century to replace an earlier church destroyed by an 1117 earthquake.  The church was reconstructed in the 13^th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

 

Basilica of St. Paulinus of Antioch, Viareggio, Tuscony

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1958.

The Renaissance church was built in the 16^th Century to replace an earlier church.

 

Wikipedia.
 

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Grosseto, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1958.

The basilica was built between 1954 and 1958 to commemorate the people killed during American bombing in 1943.

 

Basilica of San Mercuriale, Forli, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1959.

The church was built in the 12^th Century using a Lombard-Romanesque style.  An earlier church here dated to the 6^th Century.  The Benedictines built a monastery here in the 9^th Century which was taken over by the Vallumbrosan Order in the 12^th Century.

Wikipedia and a local source.

 

Cathedral Basilica of St. George the Martyr, Ferrara, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1959.

The Basilica is the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio.  The church was built in the 12^th Century to replace an earlier cathedral, which still stands.  The Basilica was remodeled in the 16^th the 18^th Centuries and is now both Romanesque and Gothic. 

From Wikipedia.

 Italy—Emilia Romagna and Tuscany—5

 

Basilica of St. Mark, Florence, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1942.

The Medici family built a church and convent here for the Dominicans in the 15^th Century.  This was once the home to Fra Angelico who contributed a fresco and a crucifix.  The Dominicans operated a pharmacy here from 1460 to 1995 and developed an elixir similar to Coca Cola.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Ss. Vincenzo Ferrari and Caterina de’ Ricci, Prato, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1947.

The Baroque Basilica was built in the 16^th Century and is the burial place of St. Caterina.

 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Faenza, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1948.

The basilica is the co-Cathedral for the Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana.  It was built in a Renaissance style between 1474 and 1515 and replaced an earlier cathedral. 

Both pictures are from local sources.

 

Basilica Abbey of St. Mary of the Assumption, Vallombrosa, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

St. John Gualbert started the congregation of the Vallombrosans and this abbey church was built in the 11^th Century using Romanesque and Baroque styles.  Renovations have taken place until at least the 18^th Century.  The church contains many works of art.

Pictures are from Facebook, a local source, and Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Blessed Virgin of Molino, Lugo, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1951.

A merchant was traveling through this area in 1496 when his wagon was overturned.  A plaster Madonna in the wagon was shattered into fragments.  Local children came by to help and began to pray.  A bright light appeared and the plaster statue was made whole again with no signs of fracture.  A church was built here in 1497, but the current Romanesque and Gothic church was built in 1934.

Both pictures are from TripAdvisor.

Basilica of St. Mary of the Servites, Bologna, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

The Servites built this brick Gothic church in 1346, although it was not fully completed until the 15^th Century.  The 1558 marble altarpiece was done by a pupil of Michelangelo.

Pictures are from Alamy, a local source, and Wikipedia.

 

Basilica of Blessed Virgin of Ghiara, Reggio Emilia, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

The church was built in the early 17^th Century to house a votive fresco associated to a 1596 miracle.  The interior is richly decorated in a Late Renaissance style using several frescoes.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

 

Basilica of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel, Florence, Tuscany

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

A church was built here in 1268 as part of a Carmelite convent.  An 18^th Century fire required a renovation and today the interior is decorated with frescoes and utilizes Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo styles.

 From a local source.

Basilica of St. Mary of Compagna, Placenza, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

The Renaissance church was built by a local guild between 1522 and 1528 and has is decorated with several frescoes.  It was built to house a 14^th Century wooden Madonna.  Pope Urban II announced the First Crusade from this site in 1095.

The first two pictures are from Trip Advisor and the last is from Wikipedia.

 

Basilica Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Piratello, Imola, Emilia Romagna

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

Our Blessed Mother appeared to a man in 1483 and told him she wanted a church built at this site.  The church was built between 1489 and 1492 and is administered by Third Order Franciscans.  The bell tower was built by Bramante.

 The first two pictures are from local sources and the last is from TripAdvisor.