en 
italiano
Bologna
The world's largest "unfinished" church.
We are talking about the most important Bolognese church in the square of Bologna: the Basilica of San Petronio, the Patron Saint of the City.
Reaching Piazza Maggiore, you can immediately notice how more than half of the imposing facade of the Basilica is incomplete. Looking at the building on the two sides, it appears almost "cut with a knife," the aisles being enclosed by straight walls.
Despite this, the Basilica of San Petronio is the largest church in Bologna, the fourth largest in Italy and the sixth largest in Europe, and the largest brick Gothic church in the world.
Its history fascinates and is controversial, and the reasons for its incompleteness are a blend of reality and legend.
It was not the Roman Church that wanted the Basilica of San Petronio to be built, but the artisans, merchants, and tradesmen of the bourgeoisie, who were governing the City at the time. Moreover, the initial design, which was itself imposing, was revised by Arduino degli Arriguzzi, who made a new one in the shape of a Latin cross, which would exceed the size of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, making it the largest church in the world.
The ecclesiastics were greatly displeased that they were not approached. According to legend, in order to prevent St. Peter's Basilica from losing its primacy, but more importantly to prevent the world's largest church from being the work of a city government, Pope Pius IV blocked the implementation of the project. Not only that, but he also had the work on the construction of the Archiginnasio (which became the first place in the world where all the different schools of the univeristy were hosted together. It remained the seat of the University of Bologna until 1803) begun on the same site where the Basilica of San Petronio was to be built.
In fact, historians believe that it was the lack of funds that prevented the entire project from being completed, as without the contributions of the church, the Bolognese were the only financiers.
But if you ask the Bolognese, Bologna is home to the largest church in the world, which is not the largest church in the world because of the Pope.
Reaching Piazza Maggiore, you can immediately notice how more than half of the imposing facade of the Basilica is incomplete. Looking at the building on the two sides, it appears almost "cut with a knife," the aisles being enclosed by straight walls.
Despite this, the Basilica of San Petronio is the largest church in Bologna, the fourth largest in Italy and the sixth largest in Europe, and the largest brick Gothic church in the world.
Its history fascinates and is controversial, and the reasons for its incompleteness are a blend of reality and legend.
It was not the Roman Church that wanted the Basilica of San Petronio to be built, but the artisans, merchants, and tradesmen of the bourgeoisie, who were governing the City at the time. Moreover, the initial design, which was itself imposing, was revised by Arduino degli Arriguzzi, who made a new one in the shape of a Latin cross, which would exceed the size of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, making it the largest church in the world.
The ecclesiastics were greatly displeased that they were not approached. According to legend, in order to prevent St. Peter's Basilica from losing its primacy, but more importantly to prevent the world's largest church from being the work of a city government, Pope Pius IV blocked the implementation of the project. Not only that, but he also had the work on the construction of the Archiginnasio (which became the first place in the world where all the different schools of the univeristy were hosted together. It remained the seat of the University of Bologna until 1803) begun on the same site where the Basilica of San Petronio was to be built.
In fact, historians believe that it was the lack of funds that prevented the entire project from being completed, as without the contributions of the church, the Bolognese were the only financiers.
But if you ask the Bolognese, Bologna is home to the largest church in the world, which is not the largest church in the world because of the Pope.