But lack of funds was only part of the problem.
It was not intended to be a church, but rather a public spacea civic temple.
Aerial view of San Petronio church.
Even the facade remained unfinished because they couldn’t agree on how to finish it.
The roof of the nave and apse were completed only in 1663.
Its vault reaches 50 meters high.
It is the tenth-largest church in the world by volume, and the largest church built of bricks.
The facade also features sculptures by Properzia de Rossi, one of the rare female sculptors of the Renaissance.
The fresco in the Basilica has offended many Muslim fundamentalists.
The prophet being devoured by the Devil.
It was laid in 1656 by the famous Italian astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini.
The meridian lineinside San Petronio Basilica.
Photo credit: Joaquin Ossorio Castillo / Shutterstock.com
