The Church of Saint Francis Xavier (Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio) is a Baroque church of Palermo. The building is considered the masterpiece of the Jesuit architect Angelo Italia.
In 1633 the Jesuits founded their fourth house in Palermo. It was destinated to the Third Probation and dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier. This new foundation was patronised by Giovanna Aragona Ventimiglia, Marchioness of Giarratana. In 1634 the archbishop Giovanni Doria blessed the initial core of the structure.
In 1680 a new House of Jesuits was built. In 1685 the reconstruction of the church started. The project for this new monumental building was realized by the Jesuit architect Angelo Italia. Il 1710 the church was completed. On 29 November 1711 the church was consecrated by the archbishop of Mazara del Vallo Bartolomeo Castelli.
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The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.