Caeline Basilica
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| Basilica of Saint Atticus and All Martyrs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Urcea |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Minor basilica, titular church |
| Dedication | Saint Atticus |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Paleochristian, Baroque, Neoclassical |
| Groundbreaking | 422 |
| Completed | 432 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Width | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Nave width | 17 metres (56 ft) |
The Caeline Basilica, officially the Basilica of Saint Atticus and All Martyrs, is a historic church on the Caeline Hill, in New City, Urceopolis.
Due to its proximity to the Julian Palace, the Basilica has had a strong historical association with the Julian dynasty.
History
According to legend, the site of the Basilica was the site of the stoning of Saint Atticus, an early Urceopolitan martyr.
Architecture and structures
Besides its cultural importance and historic ties to the ruling dynasty of Urcea, the Caeline Basilica is particularly noteworthy due to its largely unaltered appearence since its construction in the 5th century. It is one of the best preserved early Catholic Churches constructed by Great Levantia.
Exterior
The Caeline Basilica is built in the manner of an Ancient Great Levantine secular basilica, or covered forum. The characteristics are a long central nave with a lower aisle on each side. Above the aisles, the walls of the nave are pierced by a row of large clerestory windows. The brick walls are mostly unrendered, and the windows are made of selenite, not glass, making the building look much as it did when it was built in the 5th century.
The building has a colonnaded porch opening onto a cloister, and at the other end, a semi-circular apse.
The campanile (bell tower) was originally built in the 10th century; but was rebuilt in the 17th century in the Baroque style.
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Interior
The interior has basilical form, with a central nave divided from the side aisle by two rows of columns, on which rests an arcade. Above the arcade is a row of large clerestory windows. The twenty four columns of Proconnesian marble with perfectly matched Corinthian capitals and bases, were reused from an earlier pagan temple. A framed hole in the floor exposes a Great Levantine era temple column that pre-dates the basilica. This appears to be the remnant of the ancient pagan temple erected on the hilltop site during Great Levantine times, which was likely razed to allow construction of the basilica.
There is an apse at the eastern end. The original fifth-century apse mosaic was replaced in 1559 by a fresco. The composition probably remained unchanged: Christ is flanked by a good thief and a bad thief, seated on a hill while lambs drink from a stream at its base.