Croatia Rovinj St Euphemia church BW 2014-10-08 14-23-33

The Church of St. Euphemia, often known as the Basilica of St. Euphemia (although it is not formally a

basilica minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...

) and by locals as the Church of St. Fuma, is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

church located in the heart of the historic part of Rovinj, Croatia.

Description

This three-nave church was built from 1725 to 1736, over the remains of older, early Christian structures. The dedication was originally to Saint George, later to Saints George and Euphemia; the present building is dedicated to Euphemia only. Its façade dates from 1883. The relics of

Saint Euphemia Euphemia ( el, Εὐφημία; "well-spoken f), known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin, who was martyred for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was arrested for refusing to offer ...

are preserved in a Roman

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

from the sixth century (but adapted in the 15th century). The church contains several treasures and works of art: Gothic statues from the 15th century, paintings from the 16th and the 17th centuries: ''Last Supper'' and ''Christ in the Gethsemane''. The bell tower resembles the tower of

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...

in Venice. It was built during 1654–1680, to the plans by Antonio Manopola. On top of this 60 m-high tower stands the statue of

, serving as a

wind vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

The church is described by Alice Lee Moqué in ''Delightful Dalmatia'':

"At first glance it is seen that the tower with its golden angel is almost an exact copy of the
campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
in Venice, only this angel is Saint Eufemia, the little town's patron saint...whose marvelous experiences are plainly depicted upon the walls of the chapel."

Legend of the sarcophagus

Recorded by Alice Lee Moqué, an American suffraget and travel writer, is the local legend of how the sarcophagus was received by the Church. The legend begins with two fisherman caught in a storm who, having lost control of their ship, fall to their knees in earnest prayer. Their prayers are answered and they wake safely near Rovinj's shore to see a shining white light over an object that sinks into the sea. Unable to retrieve the object, they hurry to tell the townspeople of the miracle, but none can move the heavy object until a pious widow makes a plan to retrieve the gift with oxen. The oxen pull the sarcophagus from the water and carry it up the mountain. A skeptic is struck unconscious in the presence of the sarcophagus, later revealing that he'd received a vision from Saint Euphemia that the sarcophagus contained her bones. In the town's folklore, it is said that the hill has been named the "Hill of St Euphemia" ever since, even as the relics were stolen by the Genoese, who lost them to the

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

s, not being returned to the town until the 14th century.''Delightful Dalmatia''
(1914), 27-29.

References

Sources

External links

Church of St. Euphemia
at InfoRovinj
The legend of St. Euphemia
at InfoRovinj Roman Catholic churches completed in 1736 Churches in Croatia Buildings and structures in Istria County Tourist attractions in Istria County 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Czech Republic {{Croatia-church-stub