Early evening sunshine warms tiled roofs and the copper-clad dome of the Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi, a Renaissance church and former convent founded around 1450 at Stilo, Calabria, Italy, beside a 14th century watchtower that now serves as its campanile or bell tower. The elegant Baroque facade was added in the early 1700s.
Stilo, Calabria, Italy: early evening sunshine warms tiled roofs and the copper-clad dome of the Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi, a Renaissance-period church and former convent founded around 1450, with an impressive adjoining campanile or bell tower built as a watchtower in the 14th century and an elegant Baroque facade added in the early 1700s. Stilo, built on a terraced hillside above the Stilaro river, was probably founded by former inhabitants of the ancient Greek colony of Kaulonia or Kaulon after their city on the Ionian coast was destroyed by Rome in 200 BC. It thrived as later generations of coastal dwellers sought inland safety from Saracen raids, and became an important Calabrian city that achieved autonomy under the Normans and maintained power and influence for hundreds of years. The town features a world-famous Byzantine architectural gem, the Cattolica church built of brick and terracotta in the 9th century by cave-dwelling Catholic monks, as well as a ruined 11th century Norman castle on the summit of Monte Consolino and the remains of medieval defensive walls and gateways.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Stilo, Calabria, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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