Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta ( it, Basilica Patriarcale di Santa Maria Assunta is the principal

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in the town of

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...

, in the

Province of Udine The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...

and the region of

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The original church dated back to the fourth century. The current basilica was built in the eleventh century and rebuilt again in the thirteenth century. It is located on Via Sacra, overlooking the Piazza del Capitolo, along with the bell tower and baptistery.

Architecture

The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is connected by a portico to the so-called ''Church of the Pagans'', and the remains of the 5th-century baptistery. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a noteworthy mosaic pavement from the 4th century. The wooden ceiling is from 1526, while the fresco decoration belongs to various ages: from the 4th century in the St. Peter's chapel of the apse area; from the 11th century in the apse itself; from the 12th century in the so-called "Crypt of the Frescoes", under the presbytery, with a cycle depicting the origins of Christianity in Aquileia and the history of

St. Hermagoras Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia (also spelled Hermenagoras, Hermogenes, Ermacoras) ( it, Sant'Ermagora, fur, Sant Macôr or Sant Ramacul, sl, sveti Mohor; fl. 3rd century – c. 305) is considered the first bishop of Aquileia, northern Italy. Chri ...

, first bishop of the city. Next to the 11th-century Romanesque chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, at the beginning of the left aisle, flooring of different ages can be seen: the lowest is from a Roman villa of the age of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

; the middle one has a typical ''

cocciopesto ''Opus signinum'' ('cocciopesto' in modern Italian) is a building material used in ancient Rome. It is made of tiles broken up into very small pieces, mixed with mortar, and then beaten down with a rammer. Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural Histor ...

'' pavement; the upper one, bearing blackening from Attila's fire, has geometrical decorations. Externally, behind the 9th-century campanile and the apse, is the ''Cemetery of the Fallen'', where ten unnamed soldiers of World War I are buried. Saint Hermagoras is also buried there. Aquileia Patriarchate of Aquileia

Basilica churches in Friuli-Venezia Giulia {{Italy-church-stub