St. Maurus's Parish Church, Izola, Parish church in Izola, Slovenia.
St. Maurus's Parish Church is a three-nave basilica with a 54 m long nave, a 9.5 m wide central nave and 4.5 m wide side aisles, plus a 19 m long presbytery. Its detached 39 m bell tower, built in 1585 of Istrian stone in Venetian Gothic style, stands about 5 m in front of the facade. The interior has ten Baroque altars and 15th-century paintings.
A medieval church with a cemetery stood here by about 1356. After it was demolished, construction of the present church began in 1547 under architects Mazzafuoco of Venice and Francesco de Bologna of Koper; Bishop Tomaž Stella consecrated it on 10 August 1553. The separate bell tower followed in 1585, and Baroque remodelling reshaped the interior, façade and presbytery.
The church is dedicated to Saint Maurus, Bishop Donatus and Pope Sixtus II, and Mass is still held here regularly. In summer, guided tours are organised, including in foreign languages, and visitors can see the exhibition "Treasures of the Izola Parish" of sacred objects. The four bells in the tower are each inscribed with Latin verses.
The church stands on the plateau at the northern edge of the old town core, with the 39 m bell tower set about 5 m in front of the facade. Regular services are held, and in summer guided tours of the church are organised, also in foreign languages. A display of sacred objects, "Zakladi župnije Izola", can be visited.
The 39-metre bell tower, built in 1585 of Istrian stone in the Venetian Gothic style, stands about five metres in front of the church facade. Its four bells include the 896 kg St. Maurus bell cast in Gorizia in 1875 and two 1921 bells from the Lapagna foundry in Trieste, one recast from enemy cannon.
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