Basilica di Santa Giulia, Bonate Sotto, Italy

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:

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Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Fabio Casalini (8 months ago)
Basilica Santa Giulia, Bonate Sotto (BG) The basilica of Santa Giulia di Bonate Sotto, in the province of Bergamo, of which the apse remains, was founded at the beginning of the 12th century. The building has a basilica architectural structure with three naves culminating in three apses. Today, the three apses and the first span remain as evidence of what the basilica of Santa Giulia was. The uncovered part is part of the Bonate Sotto cemetery. Of particular beauty are the remaining internal capitals, sculpted in zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and geometric shapes.

Eugenio do Carmo (12 months ago)
Beautiful place!!! Lots of peace and lots of history.

Massimo (15 months ago)
Remains of a beautiful 12th century Romanesque church dedicated to Santa Giulia, an African martyr, but a cinerary urn placed on one of the columns inside (highly painted white) leads one to suspect that the church was built for Queen Teodolinda.

Roberto Vavassori (2 years ago)
The remains of a Romanesque church integrated within a cemetery. An unusual and fascinating place. Absolutely worth visiting if you are nearby.

Claudio Bravi (4 years ago)
Fascinating place, rich in history and culture

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