A church at the site of current Basilica of San Maurizio is documented since 1078, when the bishop of Turin, Cuniberto, acknowledges the donation of this and other churches to a monastery in Pinerolo.
The documents also refer to an arduous major reconstruction starting in the 1440s and completed sometime in the early 17th century, when the nave was finally roofed. The new church was reconsecrated in 1635. Sometime around 1665, damage to the church was caused by lightning strike, but even more dramatic an explosion near the monastery of St Clare in Pinerolo killed 400 townsfolk, who were initially brought to the church awaiting burial. The mass of cadavers led to a closure of the church. In 1691, the church was used to store grain in expectation of a siege of the town. Some damage occurred to the church during a siege two years later.
The bell-tower, dating 1336, was built in a Romanesque style. The interior of the church contains frescoes depicting the Ascension of Christ by Giuseppe Antonio Petrini and the main altarpiece canvas depicting the Birth of the Virgin by Claudio Francesco Beaumont. The church was again restored in 1897, including frescoes by Gabriele Ferrero. The church has numerous side chapels. It was raised to a minor basilica in 2002.
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.