The Oratory of San Marco is a Byzantine-style oratory situated in the old town centre of Rossano, a frazione of Corigliano-Rossano.
The church was built in the 10th century by St. Nilus the Younger as a place of retirement for nearby eremite monks and is one of the most important testimonies to Byzantine art in Italy. It is the most ancient monument in the city and was originally dedicated to St. Anastasia. It has a Greek cross plan with five characteristic domes on cylindrical drums and, in the past, the entire building was supported by very thin columns then these were covered with cement after restoration works. Between 1928 and 1934, during the restoration works, a fragment of a fresco picturing a Virgin Hodegetria was discovered.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.