Sveta Gora, Minor basilica on Mount Sveta Gora, Slovenia
Sveta Gora is a neo-baroque basilica on the 682-metre Sveta Gora hill above Nova Gorica, built from 1928 to designs by Silvano Baresi. It has three naves plus a side aisle, measures 72 metres long and 22 metres wide, and holds a Madonna altarpiece attributed to Palma il Vecchio, brought in 1544 by Patriarch Marino Grimani.
The original church was destroyed by Turkish forces in 1496, prompting reconstruction work between 1514 and 1544. After this rebuilding, the site became an important pilgrimage destination that has continued to this day.
The name Sveta Gora means Holy Mountain. Pilgrims come for the Marian apparitions reported in 1539 to the shepherdess Urška Ferligoj. The sanctuary is linked with Castelmonte and Mariazell by the old Via dei Monti Sacri, forming a triangle of Marian shrines.
The basilica stands at 682 metres on Monte Santo above the Isonzo's left bank, reached by marked paths from the valley. The Franciscan monastery and church belong to the Diocese of Koper. The bell tower received its bells in 1921, and the Baroque Stations of the Cross painted in 1765 were moved into the church in 1977.
The baroque Stations of the Cross in the church were painted in 1765 and only reached Sveta Gora in 1977. In the winter chapel stands a late-Gothic carved Madonna and Child from the second quarter of the 16th century, a piece visitors often pass without noticing.
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