The Basilica di Santa Giulia is a medieval former church in Bonate Sotto. Built in the early 12th century, only its apse area remain today in a short plain outside the town.
According to local tradition, it would have been founded by St. Julia of Corsica herself, or by the Lombard queen Theodelinda. It is mentioned in a letter from 1129 by Pope Honorius II. An abbey had its centre here, being abandoned together with the church around the 14th century.
The church had a basilica plan, with a nave and two aisles with three apses; the interior was divided into five bays, of which only the last one preceding the apse area survives. The area without the ceiling is now home to a cemetery. The central apse was frescoed in 1795 by the Swiss painters Baldassarre and Vincenzo Angelo Orelli.
Notable are the sculpted capitals, with geometrical, animal or human figures, while the residual exterior decoration include small columns and Lombard bands.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.