Basilicas, Cathedrals, Churches

First of all let's do a little clarity: That difference there is between one church, one basilica and one cathedral?

What is the difference between a basilica, a church, and a cathedral?

There basilica It is, literally, the house of the king, of the Lord. It derives from the Greek basileus (king) and from oikos (house). Originally a building used in ancient Rome for public meetings and the administration of justice, from the 4th century onwards the basilicas were converted into places of Christian worship.

Every church, in theory, it could to be considered a basilica, but the Church, as an institution, qualifies only some as such, based on their importance and to their artistic value.There is therefore no clear distinction as regards function, but only as regards size and beauty.

Instead the cathedral, or cathedral, from the Latin domus (the house of God), is the episcopal seatThe term derives from cathedra, the bishop's throne, and generally refers to the most important church of the city.

The churches of Tuscany

Tuscany, like few other Italian regions, is full of religious treasures. Cathedrals (as many as 32), basilicas, churches, charterhouses, abbeys, convents, monasteri, baptisteries, parish churches, hermitages, every city, every center, every village it has developed around a place of worship which represents and embellishes it.

What our country would be without the churches, authentic receptacles of history, culture and sacred art? Not only would it appear much more bare, less evocative, but it would also lose a large part of its memory.

Visiting the churches of Florence

Could you imagine Florence without the Dome, the legendary Brunelleschi's Cathedral of which, after five centuries, scholars have still not solved the mystery: how could it have been erected without an internal framework? And you could imagine it without the Baptistery, without the Giotto's Bell Tower, or without Holy Cross, the basilica of the Foscolo tombs and of the Stendhal syndrome? And without San Miniato al Monte, without Santa Maria Novella, or without Santo Spirito, what would the Tuscan capital be like?

The most beautiful Tuscan cathedrals

Lucca without the Cathedral it wouldn't be Lucca, Pisa without Square of Miracles it wouldn't be Pisa, Arezzo without the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve It wouldn't be Arezzo. And not even Siena It would be Siena without it Cathedral of Santa Maria AssuntaThe truth is that all of Tuscany would not be Tuscany without its religious wonders that it contains within itself so much of that art that it is impossible to admire it in a single lifetime.

Sanctuaries, parish churches and abbeys in Tuscany

Without considering places of spiritual understanding such as the Sanctuary of La Verna, the Hermitage of Camaldoli, or uniquely flavoured delicacies such as theAbbey of San Galgano, that of Sant'Antimo, the Chapel of Our Lady of Vitaleta in Val d'Orcia, the Sovana Cathedral, the Parish Church of Romena, how can we remember all the religious masterpieces that our land jealously preserves?

TuscanyPeople tries to remember them, if not all, then many. Follow us on our wonderful journey through the churches of Tuscany.