L'Aquila reopens Basilica of Collemaggio

More than eight years after the earthquake of April 6, 2009, during which it was severely damaged, the Basilica of Collemaggio, the important building of worship inL’Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, reopens its doors today after the lengthy restoration financed by Eni and designed and directed by the Soprintendenza Archeologica, Belle Arti e Paesaggio (Archaeological, Fine Arts and Landscape Superintendence for L’Aquila).

The opening ceremony was attended by L’Aquila Mayor Pierluigi Biondi, Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini, Superintendent Alessandra Vittorini, Eni executive Claudio Granata and Archbishop Giuseppe Petrocchi of L’Aquila. The basilica will open to the public from tomorrow with hours of 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is one of Abruzzo’s most improtant monuments: it was built in 1287 on the initiative of Pietro da Morrone, a hermit originally from Molise who became Pope Celestine V at the age of eighty-five, known for having renounced the papacy a few months after being elected to the throne of Peter (today he is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church). Completed in 1294, it was hit by several earthquakes that forced the people of L’Aquila to rebuild it several times over the centuries: the facade, however, is still the Romanesque-Gothic one of its origins. The interior, which took on a neo-Romanesque appearance after restoration work in the 20th century, houses 15th-century sculptures, remains of frescoes by Francesco da Montereale, Baroque altars, and the mausoleum containing the remains of Celestine V.

Image: the facade of the Basilica of Collemaggio. Ph. Credit

L'Aquila reopens Basilica of Collemaggio

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