Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, Minor basilica in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is a Catholic building in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, known for its 158-meter (518-foot) dome rising above the city. The structure includes walls of Italian marble, 272 Doric columns, and over 18,500 glass panels spread across roughly 30,000 square meters (323,000 square feet).
The building rose between 1985 and 1989 under President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who wanted to honor his birthplace with the structure. Pope John Paul II consecrated it in September 1990, linking it formally to the Catholic hierarchy.
The dome holds colored glass that shifts light throughout the day, casting shades across the white columns below. The benches are cut from Iroko, a tree from regional forests, giving the interior a warm note against the cool marble walls.
The interior holds space for 7,000 seated and roughly 11,000 standing visitors, while outside a large plaza spreads around the building. Looking upward shows the dome up close, and walking the colonnade circuit can take several minutes.
Guinness World Records lists this building as the largest Christian church in the world by floor area. The designation came after comparing it to Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, whose covered ground footprint proved smaller.
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