Maria Santissima del Rosario, Minor basilica in Francavilla Fontana, Italy.
Maria Santissima del Rosario is the largest church of the Diocese of Oria, in Francavilla Fontana. Its baroque building, rebuilt from 1743 to 1759, carries the highest dome in the Salento, 13 metres across. The facade keeps a large rose window above the entrance, biforas on the side walls and a tall bell tower with four high spires.
According to tradition, the church's origin is tied to the discovery of a Byzantine icon of the Madonna on 14 September 1310 by Philip I of Anjou, Prince of Taranto, near a spring at the Casale di San Salvatore; he ordered a church built there. Consecrated in 1572, it was rebuilt from 1743 to 1759 after an earthquake, funded by the prince, the Università and the people. It became a minor basilica in 2012.
The church is titled for the Madonna del Rosario, and on 7 October 2012, the feast of the Rosary, it was formally elevated as a minor basilica in a celebration led by the bishop of Oria. Its origin is tied to a Byzantine icon of the Virgin found on 14 September 1310 near a spring by the Casale di San Salvatore, which Prince Filippo I d'Angiò had enshrined in a church.
Visitors should plan a visit during regular opening times and check for local religious services and celebrations, which offer the best opportunity to experience the space. The interior is accessible from the main entrance, providing enough room to view the decorative details and artwork.
The dome, 13 metres across, is the widest in the Salento and the highest in the Diocese of Oria. The bell tower was begun in 1791 to Mauro Manieri's design at the University's expense, yet stayed unfinished for centuries until its upper section was completed only in recent years.
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