Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Santa Maria degli Angeli)
The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels (Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli) is a papal minor basilica situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of Assisi, Italy, in the frazione of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
The basilica was constructed in the Mannerist style between 1569 and 1679, enclosing the 9th-century little church, the Porziuncola, the most sacred place for the Franciscans. It was here that the young Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and renounced the world in order to live in poverty among the poor, and thus started the Franciscan movement.
After the death of Saint Francis in 1226, the friars built several small huts around the Porziuncola. In 1230, a refectory and some adjacent buildings were added. In the course of time, little porticoes and accommodations for the friars were added around the Porziuncola. Some foundations of these were discovered during excavations under the floor of the present basilica between 1967 and 1969.
As vast numbers of pilgrims came flocking to Assisi to receive the "Pardon of Assisi", the small space of the Porziuncola became completely inadequate to house all these pilgrims. The necessity grew to build a church incorporating the Porziuncola. The buildings around the shrine were taken down by order of Pope Pius V (1566–1572), except the Chapel of the Transito, the cell in which St. Francis had died. Construction of the basilica started on 25 March 1569.
This majestic church, the seventh-largest Christian church, was designed in a bold Mannerist style, which prefigured the Baroque style, by two famous architects, Galeazzo Alessi and Vignola. The work progressed slowly, due to a constant lack of money, as the building was financed with donations. The noteworthy dome, resting on an octagonal drum with eight windows and cornices, was finished in 1667. The construction of the church was finally completed in 1679. In 1684 a bell tower was added. It was originally intended to have a twin tower, but the second was never built.
On 15 March 1832 the central nave, a part of a lateral aisle, and the choir collapsed during a violent earthquake. The dome escaped destruction but was left with a wide crack. The apse and the side chapels were left standing. Reconstruction of the basilica started in 1836 by the architect Luigi Poletti and it was finished and reopened for worship in 1840. He remodeled the façade in a neoclassical style. Between 1924 and 1930 this façade was given back its original pre-Baroque style by Cesare Bazzani (Rome, 5 March 1873 – Rome, 30 March 1939). The gold-plated statue of the Madonna Degli Angeli ("Madonna of the Angels") by the sculptor Colasanti and cast by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry, was put on top of the façade in 1930.
On 11 April 1909, the church was raised by Pope Pius X to the status of "patriarchal basilica and papal chapel".
The basilica was constructed in the Mannerist style between 1569 and 1679, enclosing the 9th-century little church, the Porziuncola, the most sacred place for the Franciscans. It was here that the young Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and renounced the world in order to live in poverty among the poor, and thus started the Franciscan movement.
After the death of Saint Francis in 1226, the friars built several small huts around the Porziuncola. In 1230, a refectory and some adjacent buildings were added. In the course of time, little porticoes and accommodations for the friars were added around the Porziuncola. Some foundations of these were discovered during excavations under the floor of the present basilica between 1967 and 1969.
As vast numbers of pilgrims came flocking to Assisi to receive the "Pardon of Assisi", the small space of the Porziuncola became completely inadequate to house all these pilgrims. The necessity grew to build a church incorporating the Porziuncola. The buildings around the shrine were taken down by order of Pope Pius V (1566–1572), except the Chapel of the Transito, the cell in which St. Francis had died. Construction of the basilica started on 25 March 1569.
This majestic church, the seventh-largest Christian church, was designed in a bold Mannerist style, which prefigured the Baroque style, by two famous architects, Galeazzo Alessi and Vignola. The work progressed slowly, due to a constant lack of money, as the building was financed with donations. The noteworthy dome, resting on an octagonal drum with eight windows and cornices, was finished in 1667. The construction of the church was finally completed in 1679. In 1684 a bell tower was added. It was originally intended to have a twin tower, but the second was never built.
On 15 March 1832 the central nave, a part of a lateral aisle, and the choir collapsed during a violent earthquake. The dome escaped destruction but was left with a wide crack. The apse and the side chapels were left standing. Reconstruction of the basilica started in 1836 by the architect Luigi Poletti and it was finished and reopened for worship in 1840. He remodeled the façade in a neoclassical style. Between 1924 and 1930 this façade was given back its original pre-Baroque style by Cesare Bazzani (Rome, 5 March 1873 – Rome, 30 March 1939). The gold-plated statue of the Madonna Degli Angeli ("Madonna of the Angels") by the sculptor Colasanti and cast by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry, was put on top of the façade in 1930.
On 11 April 1909, the church was raised by Pope Pius X to the status of "patriarchal basilica and papal chapel".
Map - Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Santa Maria degli Angeli)
Map
Country - Italy
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Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures, who immigrated to the peninsula throughout history. The Latins, native of central Italy, formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People. The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula, eventually expanding and conquering a large part of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural, political and religious centre, inaugurating the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's law, technology, economy, art, and literature developed.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| CA | Catalan language |
| CO | Corsican language |
| FR | French language |
| DE | German language |
| IT | Italian language |
| SC | Sardinian language |
| SL | Slovene language |