History
After the death of Saint Francis in 1226, the friars built several small huts around the Porziuncola. In 1230 a refectory and some adjacent buildings were added. In the course of time little porticoes and accommodations for the friars were added around the Porziuncola. Some foundations of these were discovered during excavations under the floor of the present basilica between 1967 and 1969.
As vast numbers pilgrims came flocking to Assisi to receive the “Pardon of Assisi”, the small space of the Porziuncola became completely inadequate to house all these pilgrims. The necessity grew to build a church incorporating the Porziuncola. The buildings around the shrine were taken down by order of Pope Pius V (1566-1572), except the Chapel of the Transito, the cell in which St. Francis had died. Construction of the basilica started on 25 March 1569.
This majestic church, the seventh largest Christian church, was designed in a bold Mannerist style, which prefigured the Baroque style, by two famous architects, Galeazzo Alessi and Vignola. The work progressed slowly, due to constant lack of money, as the building was financed with donations. The noteworthy dome, resting on an octagonal drum with eight windows and cornices, was finished in 1667. Construction of the church was finally completed in 1679. In 1684 a bell tower was added. It was originally intended to have a twin tower, but the second was never built.
On 15 March 1832 the central nave, a part of a lateral aisle and the choir collapsed during a violent earthquake. The dome escaped destruction, but was left with a wide crack. The apse and the side chapels were left standing. Reconstruction of the basilica started in 1836 by the architect Luigi Poletti and it was finished in 1840. He remodeled the façade in a neoclassical style. Between 1924 and 1930 this façade was given back its original pre-Baroque style by Cesare Bazzani (Rome, 5 March1873 – Rome, 30 March 1939). The gold-plated statue of the Madonna degli Angeli ("Madonna of the Angels") by the sculptor Colasanti, was put on top of the façade in 1930.
On 11 April 1909, the church was raised by pope Pius X to the status of "patriarchal basilica and papal chapel"
Read more about this topic: Basilica Of Santa Maria Degli Angeli
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