Église Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Bonifacio, Romanesque church in Bonifacio, France

Église Sainte-Marie-Majeure is a Romanesque church in the heart of Bonifacio's Haute-Ville. Its west façade is built of white limestone and has a rose window. The 25-metre bell tower, called u Campanin in Bonifacian, has a Romanesque base and four Gothic upper storeys, with a flat stone coping and paired pointed-arch openings. The interior has three naves, each with a 17th-century polychrome marble altar.

The church is documented in archives from 1238 and was probably built in the 12th century by the Pisans; the coat of arms of the Republic of Genoa on one portal points to later partial rebuilding by the Genoese. In 1516 Bonifacio was detached from the pieve of Ajaccio and Sainte-Marie-Majeure became the main church of the new pieve, attached directly to the archbishopric of Genoa. In 1815 Bonifacians raised the tricolour on the bell tower; royalists fired cannon at it, damaging the tower. It was classified as a monument historique in 1982.

The campanile is called u Campanin in Bonifacian, the local Corsican dialect. In front of the church stands the loggia, a small arcaded square where notables met under Genoese rule to deliberate, administer justice and draw up contracts. The polychrome marble altars date from the 17th century, and the high altar holds the relics of Saint Boniface, patron of the town.

The church sits in Bonifacio's old town and is reached by walking through narrow winding streets that climb steeply from the lower areas. Comfortable shoes are recommended because the pathways are steep and uneven throughout this part of the town.

In 1815, after Napoleon's return from Elba was announced, Bonifacians raised the French tricolour on top of the bell tower. Royalists responded by firing cannon at the tower, causing major damage; only the north side of the three carved central storeys remained intact.