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The basilica di San Giulio is a church rising up on the small Isola San Giulio in the center of Lake Orta, north-western Italy. It has the status of a minor basilica.〔(''Catholic.org Basilicas in Italy'' )〕 Althoughthe island is part of the Orta San Giulio municipality, the basilica belongs to the San Giacomo parish, including the island and a portion of the west coast of the lake in San Maurizio d'Opaglio municipality. ==History== According to tradition, it is the hudrendth and last church founded by Julius of Novara and his brother Giuliano, both natives of Aegina in Greece, who dedicated their late life to evangelize Lake Orta. Legend has it that around year 390 the saint reached the island sailing on his cloack and freeing it from dragons (symbols of paganism); after the defeat of the monsters he built a small church devoted to the Twelve Apostles. In the Early Middle Ages the strategic position made the island an important defensive point; first it was the abode of a Lombard duke, then Berengar II of Italy built a castle there. The construction of the castle is sometimes attributed to Onorato, bishop of Novara. Wars and military necessities conditioned the development of the church both as a result of damage suffered during the sieges and because some structures were reused as military buildings: the ancient octagonal castle tower, demolished in 1841 in order to allow the construction of the seminary, was probably built on the baptistery. Archaeological digs inside the church found traces of an ancient basilica (5th to 6th century), a small north oriented chapel with a single apse. Around a century later a new church was built, bigger and correctly oriented, still with a single apse. It is supposed that the wars occurred in 962, when the fortress (occupied by Queen Willa, Beregar's wife) was besieged by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor; this may have damaged the early Middle Ages church. The modern church, constructed in the 12th century, is Romanesque, with a nave and two aisles, but was modified in the following centuries. Inside there is a precious 12th-century Romanesque ambon (sculpted in green serpentine marble) supported by four more ancient columns. It is decorated with the symbols of the Four Evangelists, scenes of struggle between good and evil and a male figure that maybe represents William of Volpiano, born on the island in 962. Other and more recent interpretations say otherwise. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Basilica di San Giulio」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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