Santa Maria Maggiore, Minor basilica in Città Alta, Bergamo, Italy
Santa Maria Maggiore is a Romanesque basilica in Città Alta with four side portals guarded by marble lions. Its cross-shaped layout contains red and white marble columns, wooden inlays, frescoes, stuccowork, and tapestries.
Construction began in 1137 on the site of an eighth-century church that had replaced a Roman temple. Over the centuries, the interior received additions in the Baroque style.
Local residents named this church in gratitude after a twelfth-century plague epidemic ended, and this devotion remains visible in its design. Worshippers enter through the side portals and experience a space still used for services and concerts today.
Visitors can enter from Monday through Friday between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM, then from 2:30 PM until 6:00 PM. Comfortable shoes help when exploring the inlaid floors and elevated sections.
Instead of a main entrance, four side portals lead inside, guarded by stone lions. Between the northern gates, medieval measurement standards lie embedded in the pavement, once used by merchants for their trades.
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