Basilica di San Giulio

The Basilica di San Giulio is a Roman Catholic church on the small San Giulio Island in the center of Lake Orta, province of Novara, north-western Italy. It has the status of a minor basilica. Although the island is part of the Orta San Giulio municipality, the basilica belongs to the San Giacomo parish, including the island and a portion of the west coast of the lake in San Maurizio d'Opaglio municipality.

According to tradition, it was the hundredth, and last, church founded by Julius of Novara and his brother Julian, both natives of Aegina in Greece, who dedicated their later years to the evangelization of the area around Lake Orta. Legend has it that around year 390 the saint reached the island sailing on his cloak, and then freed it from dragons (symbols of paganism); after the defeat of the monsters he built a small church devoted to the Twelve Apostles. In the Early Middle Ages, the strategic position made the island an important defensive point; first, it was the abode of a Lombard duke, then Berengar II of Italy built a castle there. The construction of the castle is sometimes attributed to Onorato, bishop of Novara. Military constraints and damage during sieges conditioned the development of the church, some parts of which were reused as military buildings. The ancient octagonal castle tower, demolished in 1841 in order to allow the construction of the seminary, was probably built upon the prior baptistery. Archaeological excavations inside the church have found traces of an ancient basilica (5th to 6th century), a small north oriented chapel with a single apse. Around a century later, a new church was built, bigger and correctly oriented, but still with a single apse. It is supposed that the during the wars that occurred in 962, the fortress (occupied by Queen Willa, Berengar's wife) was besieged by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor; this may have damaged the early Middle Ages church. The modern church, constructed in the 12th century, is Romanesque, with a nave and two aisles, but was again modified in the following centuries. Inside there is a precious 12th-century Romanesque ambon (sculpted in green serpentine marble) supported by four more ancient columns. It is decorated with the symbols of the Four Evangelists, scenes of struggle between good and evil and a male figure that may, according to some, represents William of Volpiano, born on the island in 962.

The façade of the church, now part of a Benedictine monastery, is visible from the lake and from the square in front. The facade is in Romanesque style, despite modifications that occurred in the 16th century including a pronaos and a serliana window on top of it. Two pilasters frame the entrance up to the roof: they divide the façade in three allowing one to foresee the inner structure of the church; in the center part, there are a crossed window and a Lombard band running along the roof. The two lateral parts end with towers (12th century) with mullioned windows and cotto archivolt. The entrance for the visitors of the basilica is on the south side, almost entirely hidden by the ancient Bishop palace (today the nuns' monastery); it can be reached from the jetty through a renaissance portal and a vaulted stair. The basilica has three apses (one entirely hidden by the sacristy); the central one is constructed with ashlars and is decorated with a Lombard frieze. The octagonal lantern tower dates to the Romanesque period but was modified in the late 18th century. The bell tower is near the apsides and is decorated with mullioned windows in the upper part. The style of the bell tower is similar to the one in the Abbey of Fruttuaria.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).