Oria Cathedral (Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta) is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Oria. In 1750 the then bishop of Oria demolished the 13th-century Romanesque cathedral that stood previously on the site, which had been left unsafe by the earthquake of February 20, 1743. Two columns from the old church were purchased for 8000 ducats for use in the Capella Reggia of Caserta.
The new church was reconsecrated in 1756. The façade includes a clock tower to the left and a campanile to the right. The dome is covered with polychrome tiles. The interior is richly decorated. The interior of the church has a crypt with niches containing mummified bodies.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II granted the cathedral the status of a minor basilica.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.