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Basilica di San Giulio is a Roman Catholic church on Isola San Giulio in Lake Orta, northwest Italy. Tradition says the church was the 100th founded by Saint Julius of Novara, who, around 390, sailed to the island on his cloak and drove out dragons — symbols of paganism — before building a church. During the Middle Ages, the island became a strategic site, with a Lombard duke’s residence and later a castle built by Berengar II. Parts of the church were repurposed for military use. Excavations revealed remains of earlier churches, dating back to the 5th century. The current Romanesque structure was built in the 12th century and modified in later centuries.
The Romanesque façade, altered in the 16th century, includes towers, mullioned windows, and a distinctive lantern tower. Visitor access is via a Renaissance portal near the old bishop’s palace, now a monastery.
The basilica has groin vaults, matronei, and a crypt (1697) holding Saint Julius’s remains. Baroque frescoes by Carlo Borsetti and others decorate the apse and chapels. Notable artworks include a wooden Calvary group and frescoes from the 14th–16th centuries depicting saints and biblical scenes.
The 12th-century Romanesque ambon, made of green serpentine marble, is richly decorated with biblical symbols and bestiary scenes, representing the battle between good and evil. One figure may depict William of Volpiano, born on the island.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.