Basilica della Ghiara, Minor basilica in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
The Basilica della Ghiara is a church in Reggio Emilia built on a Greek cross plan with a central dome surrounded by four smaller domes. The facade combines Doric and Ionic columns in a balanced Renaissance design.
Construction started in 1597 under architect Francesco Pacchioni following a reported miracle where a deaf-mute boy regained speech in front of a Madonna painting. The event prompted local leaders to build a church at that site.
The interior frescoes are largely by artists of the Carracci school. Lionello Spada painted the central dome in 1616 with the Apotheosis of the Madonna, the four patron saints of the city and Old Testament figures. Alessandro Tiarini frescoed the ceiling of the entry arm, considered his masterwork, and the apse Coronation of the Virgin (1625–1629).
The church stands on corso Garibaldi, along the old course of the Crostolo river, and is owned by the municipality of Reggio Emilia. The campanile on the right side of the building reaches 52 metres on an 8-metre square base, with an octagonal bell cell added from 1630 and a clock of 1661. The planned dome and lantern for the tower were never finished.
A marble bas-relief of the Virgin of Ghiara from 1642 adorns the central portal of the church. White Veronese marble was used for details across the entire facade creating a refined contrast.
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