170 Churches to Explore in Italy

The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio is a church in the centre of Milan, northern Italy. One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by St. Ambrose in 379–386, in an area where numerous martyrs of the Roman persecutions had been buried. The first name of the church was in fact Basilica Martyrum. The monastery and church became a large landholder in northern Italy and into what is now the Swiss Canton of Ticino.

The Basilica of Sant'Andrea is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral and minor basilica in Mantua, Lombardy. It is one of the major works of 15th-century Renaissance architecture in Northern Italy. . Though later changes and expansions altered Alberti's design, the church is still considered to be one of Alberti's most complete works. It looms over the Piazza Mantegna.

The basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica of Ravenna. Born as an Arian place of worship, in the 6th century, it was consecrated to San Martino di Tours. The current name of the basilica dates back to the 9th century, a period in which the relics of the proto-bishop Apollinare, due to frequent pirate raids on the Ravenna coast, for safety reasons, were transferred from the basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe to the intramural basilica of San Martino which was renamed, in fact, Sant'Ap

The basilica of Santa Chiara is an important place of worship in the historic center of Assisi. The architectural style is Gothic , and closely resembles the almost contemporary upper basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. The exterior is characterized by three large polygonal buttresses in the shape of large flying buttresses that reinforce the left side of the building.

The patriarchal basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is the main religious building in Aquileia and the ancient cathedral church of the suppressed Patriarchate of Aquileia. The oldest remains date back to the 4th century, the current basilica was built in the 11th century and remodeled in the 13th century. It stands on the side of the Via Sacra, overlooking the Piazza del Capitolo, together with the baptistery and the imposing bell tower.

The Basilica of Santa Maria Degli Angeli is a church, the Roman Catholic rite, located in Assisi, in the hamlet of the same name, built on project Galeazzo Alessi with speeches by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola in the second half of the sixteenth century. It has the dignity of a papal basilica and inside there is the Porziuncola, the chapel where Francis of Assisi gathered in prayer, and for this reason the center of Franciscan spirituality.

Santa Maria Della Salute is a basilica in Venice built in the Punta Della Dogana area, from where it stands out in the panorama of the San Marco Basin and the Grand Canal. Designed by Baldassare Longhena with attention to the models of Palladio, it is one of the best expressions of Venetian Baroque architecture. Its construction represents an ex-voto to the Madonna by the Venetians for the liberation from the plague that between1630 and 1631 decimated the population.

The basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is a religious building of the Aquila , located just outside the city ​​walls , on the homonymous hill. Founded in 1288 at the behest of Pietro da Morrone - crowned pope here with the name of Celestino V on 29 August 1294 - it is considered the highest expression of Abruzzo architecture , as well as the symbol of the city and was declared a national monument in 1902.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is an ancient Catholic basilica that is considered to be the largest of the churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome. It is one of the city’s four major basilicas. An absolute Early Christian masterpiece of art and architecture. You will be taken aback by the beauty of its mosaics, frescoes and sculptures.

The church of Santo Spirito is one of the main basilicas of the city of Florence. It is located in the Oltrarno district, the southern part of the historic center, and with its simple facade dominates the square of the same name. It was built on the remains of the thirteenth-century Augustinian convent destroyed by a fire in 1371. This church is nestled in a quiet little corner of Florence and it is very possible that you will pass in front of it several times before even really noticing its per

The basilica sanctuary of Maria Santissima Addolorata, or simply the basilica dell'Addolorata is an important Catholic place of worship located in the municipality of Castelpetroso, in the province of Isernia, and belonging to the archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano.

The Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches still standing in Rome. However, the majority of the building as we see it today was erected later, in the twelfth century AD. The inscription on the episcopal throne states that this is the first church in Rome dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. The church has large areas of important mosaics from the late 13th century by Pietro Cavallini.

The Basilica of San Bernardino is a religious building of the Aquila, located in the quarter of Santa Maria. It was built, with the adjacent convent, between 1454 and 1472 in honor of St. Bernardino of Siena, whose remains are kept inside the mausoleum of the Saint built by Silvestro dell'Aquila. The facade, erected in the following century by Cola dell'Amatrice with Michelangelo's influences, is considered the highest expression of Renaissance architecture in Abruzzo.

The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the richest churches in Bologna in art history and was erected by the Dominican Friars as a place to store the remains of San Domenico di Guzman, founder of the order and who arrived in Bologna around 1200. Inside there are priceless works of art by authors such as Guercino, Filippino Lippi, and Ludovico Carracci. The church's small museum houses many important works of art and a wide collection of precious reliquaries, chalices, and monstrances.

The Basilica Superiore, which was built immediately after the lower church and consecrated in 1253, is home to one of Italy's most famous works of art – a cycle of 28 frescoes depicting the life of St Francis. It is a Papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000.

The Basilica of Sant'Abbondio is a Romanesque church in Como. Next to it there is a monastery built in the Middle Ages, which today, after being restored, houses the Faculty of Law of the University of Insubria. The church has two notable bell towers rising at the end of the external aisles, in the middle of the nave. The sober façade, once preceded by a portico, has seven windows and a portal. Notable is the external decoration of the choir's windows.

The basilica of Santa Croce in the homonymous square in Florence is one of the largest Franciscan churches and one of the greatest achievements of the Gothic in Italy and has the rank of minor basilica. Santa Croce is a prestigious symbol of Florence, the meeting place of the greatest artists, theologians, religious, writers, humanists, and politicians, who determined, in good times and bad, the identity of the late medieval and Renaissance city. It was also a place of reception for popes such

The patriarchal basilica of Sant'Eufemia is the main religious building in Grado and ancient cathedral church dating back to the sixth century , it stands on the square of the ancient patriarchal city, flanked by the baptistery and the spire-shaped bell tower of the fifteenth century. Much of the fame of the basilica comes from the incredibly well preserved sixth-century floor mosaics that decorate the basilica, as it is extremely rare to find the original floor mosaics preserved in an early Ch

The basilica of Santa Maria Novella is one of the most important churches in Florence and stands on the homonymous square. If Santa Croce was and is an ancient center of Franciscan culture and Santo Spirito hosted the Augustinian order, Santa Maria Novella was for Florence the reference point for another important mendicant order, the Dominicans. The church, the adjoining cloister, and the chapter house contain a multiplicity of art treasures and funerary monuments.

The basilica of Santa Rita da Cascia is a minor basilica of Cascia, belonging to the homonymous sanctuary: inside the mortal remains of Santa Rita are venerated. The church, located almost on the top of the Sant'Agostino hill and whose access to the churchyard is allowed by a short staircase, has a facade covered in white travertine from Tivoli set between two spiers , which end with two small bell cells, surmounted by crosses in iron.