Monopoli Cathedral has been since 1986 a co-cathedral in the Diocese of Conversano-Monopoli. The cathedral was erected near the site of a Roman temple and burial site. Work began on it in 1107, but was supposedly halted for the lack of roof beams. A miracle occurred in 1117 when a raft carrying an icon of the Madonna drifted into the harbour. The raft beams were used to construct the roof.
The Romanesque structure was not complete until 1442, when it was consecrated. Two of the three bell-towers were damaged during the siege of the Marquis Del Vasto in 1528. The remaining tower collapsed in 1686, killing forty townspeople. By 1693, a new campanile had been erected.
In 1738, an endowment by Bishop Giulio Sacchi called for a refurbishment. The old church was razed, and a new church begun in 1742. Work was completed in Baroque style in 1772. In 1921, the cathedral was declared a minor basilica. In 1986, the dioceses of Monopoli and Conversano were joined, making this a co-cathedral.
The Chapel of Our Lady of Madia has elaborate polychrome decoration on the altar. The chapel contains two large canvases by Pietro Bardellino, and there are 6 small 18th-century paintings depicting the Life of the Virgin by Michele del Pezzo. A series of four paintings (1732) in the Chapel of the Martyrs by Michelangelo Signorile recounts the Miracle of the Raft.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.