Basilica di San Petronio, Italy

You can see the beautiful Basilica di San Petronio in the main square in the heart of Bologna. It is one of the largest Catholic churches in the world. Even though the church is not a cathedral, it is still considered the most important in the city due to its impressive scale. The cathedral is 132 meters long and 66 meters wide. The temple was never fully completed. But it is still one of the highest in the city. The height of the cathedral is 51 meters.

The basilica began to be built in 1390. The famous architect Antonio di Vincenzo was the author of its design. A very dense development took place in the center of Bologna in the late 14th century. It was necessary to destroy 8 old churches, as well as several defensive towers, to free up space for the basilica. There are 22 chapels in the cathedral today. 8 of them are named after churches that were destroyed. The cathedral turned out to be very luxurious already at the initial stage of construction. It surpassed the Church of St. Peter located in the Vatican. Pope Pius IV issued an order that the decoration of the facade of the basilica had to be simplified in 1562.

The project of finishing the facade was redone. You may notice that only a small part of it is lined with rare pink marble today. The basilica is several hundred years old. But it was officially consecrated only recently, in 1954. The complete reconstruction of the temple started about 20 years ago. It continues today. Visitors to the attraction have the opportunity not only to admire the interior design of the temple but also to climb to the observation deck. An important religious relic was moved to the cathedral in 2000. These are the remains of Saint Petronio. They attract pilgrims from various countries today. Next - Villa Madama