San Gregorio Maggiore, Spoleto, Romanesque basilica in Spoleto, Italy
San Gregorio Maggiore is a basilica in Spoleto defined by its three-nave layout, separated by columns with cubic capitals and semicircular arches. The interior structure leads toward an elevated presbytery with three apses that mark the liturgical focal point.
Construction began in 1079, as recorded by an inscription inside the basilica, on a site already used as an early Christian cemetery. A second inscription gives 6 August 1146, when six bishops consecrated the church. In 1155 Frederick Barbarossa's destruction of Spoleto damaged the still-unwalled building, and floods of the Tessino raised the street level, so the entrance now lies below the piazza.
The Chapel of the Innocents, to the left of the entrance portico, holds 15th-century frescoes recalling the founding of the church and the life of Santa Abbondanza, who is said to be buried here. It now serves as the baptistery and keeps a Romanesque architrave.
The church floor sits below the present street level because alluvial deposits from the Tessino raised the surrounding road over the centuries, so entry is down a few steps. One exit leads to the Ponte Sanguinario, the Roman bridge over the Tessino.
The lower part of the bell tower was built with spolia, reused stone taken from older structures, and the tower was only completed in 1492, the year the ball was bought for its spire. Look for the mismatched carved blocks set into the masonry at the base.
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