Bell tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Ajaccio where Emperor Napoleon I was baptised in Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud) Corsica, France
Ajaccio Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Ajaccio (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Ajaccio) and also known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of Saint Mary (French: Cathédrale de l'Assomption de Sainte-Marie), is a Roman Catholic church located in Ajaccio, Corsica. The cathedral is the ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Ajaccio, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Marseille. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and is in the Baroque/Mannerist architectural style. The present cathedral was built between 1577 and 1593 and is attributed to Italian architect Giacomo della Porta. It was built to replace the former Cathedral of Saint-Croix, destroyed in 1553 in order to make room for developments in the city's defenses, as stated in the permit required by the Council of Ancients in 1559 to the Senate of Genoa and Pope Gregory XIII in order to build a new cathedral. The final stone was laid in 1593 by Jules Guistiniani, made bishop by Pope Sixtus V. It is where Napoleon Bonaparte was baptised on 21 July 1771 and he recited the following on his deathbed in Saint Helena in 1821 : "If they forbid my corpse, as they have forbidden my body, deny me a small piece of land in which to be buried, I wish to be buried with my ancestors in Ajaccio Cathedral in Corsica. The cathedral has been a monument historique (a national heritage site of France) since 30 October 1906. According to legend, on 15 August 1769, Letizia Buonaparte felt sudden labour pains while in the cathedral. She rushed home to the Buonaparte's home, just steps away, and gave birth to Napoleon on a first floor sofa before she could reach her bedroom upstairs.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Rue Forcioli Conti, 20000 Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud, Corsica, France, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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