Basilica Santa Croce, Minor basilica in Torre del Greco, Italy.
Basilica Santa Croce in Torre del Greco is a neoclassical church with three naves arranged in a Latin cross layout. White stucco decoration and Corinthian columns create the interior structure.
The original church was destroyed by the Vesuvius eruption in 1794. Reconstruction started in 1795 under architect Ignazio di Nardo's direction.
The name comes from a relic of the True Cross; a legend says the building funds were left by citizens in barrels at the foot of a cross. Cardinal Giuseppe Maria Capece Zurlo donated a replacement relic in 1795, after the original was lost in the eruption. The church holds the remains of San Vincenzo Romano, parish priest from 1795 to 1831.
The basilica faces the large square that forms the core of Torre del Greco's historic centre, a short walk from the port area rebuilt on the 1794 lava flow. The bell tower, whose first order was buried by the eruption, stands beside the church. Entrance is from the piazza; visitors should dress for a working parish church.
The monumental organ was built in 1761 by the Cimmino workshop of Neapolitan organ builders, following a design by Nicola Tagliacozzi Canale. It predates the 1794 eruption that destroyed the church, and the present building was consecrated in 1827.
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