The largest churches in the world that you have to see

share | tweet | MORE |

 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re religious or not, churches are one of the first things that tourists visit when they arrive at a new place. It might sound cheesy and cliche, but fact is that churches are usually some of the most impressive monuments that you can find in a city.

They combine history, art and architecture into one single spectacular building, and they bigger and older they are, the better. You can usually find some very interesting (and most of the time, beautiful) paintings, stained glass windows, carvings and statues in churches, not to mention the potential graves of important historical figures. So here’s a list of the largest churches in the world, for the traditionalist toursit hiding inside all of us.

St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican

No list of impressive churches can be complete without mentioning St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the most emblematic churches for Catholics all over the world. This church is not only the largest in the world when it comes to area, but also quite old, having been built at the beginning of the 16th century.

According to Catholic tradition, the basilica’s namesake, St. Peter, is buried beneath the altar. Since St. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, many popes have been buried in and under the basilica. Many of the Renaissance’s most talented artists have left their mark upon this church, for example Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Bramante and Bernini. In fact, entire basilica can be considered to be one giant work of art.

Seville Cathedral, Spain

While the Seville Cathedral is only the third largest church in the world according to size, it’s the largest Gothic cathedral you can find anywhere. It was built in the 16th century, and at that time it was larger and more impressive even than Hagia Sophia.

While the main purpose of the church is the obvious religious one, it was also supposed to showcase the wealth and beauty of Seville. One of the highlights of the church is the fact that Christopher Columbus is buried there.

Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Fatima, Portugal

This church is quite diferent from the previous two, not only because it is much newer (the construction started in 2004), but also because the style in which it was built is not at all reminiscent of traditional churches. It’s interesting to mention that the first stone laid down suring the construction of the church was a piece of marble taken from the tomb of Saint Peter (the stone is now on display for the pilgrims).

The decorations of the church are Byzantine-inspired, and many internationally know artists have contributed to the iconographic works which ornate it.

San Petronio Basilica, Bologna, Italy

San Petronio Basilica, majestically looming over Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore, can accommodate almost 30,000 people, the size of a small city. The construction of the church started at the end of the 14th century, and lasted for several centuries, but the main facade was never finished, despite the attempts of several architects.

You can see some amous pieces of art in this church, like a Madonna with Saints by Lorenzo Costa the Younger and a Pietà by Amico Aspertini. It also has a  sundial in the form of a meridian line inlaid in the paving of the left aisle, designed by the famous astronomer Giovanni Cassini.

You might also like

share | tweet | more |

 

Leave a comment on The largest churches in the world that you have to see

Enter your comment below, or Trackback from your own blog. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS
 

Leave a comment:

* your name

* your email address (will not be published)

your website

 

*=required