Okay, okay, okay.  I was done with blog posts for today, but then I was able to peak inside the main church of Guardialfiera, and now I’m inspired.

The church was originally built in the 11th century.  Due to various events including an earthquake in 1456, the church has been reconstructed and renovated various times over the centuries.  Various parts of the church range from the original construction through the 18th century.

You can see this reconstruction around the exterior of the church with older building blocks being used for the current construction.  In particular, you can see carved stones that have been repurposed for the current structure.

At some point, the Papacy consecrated this church as a basilica, but I can’t find the actual date in my notes.

In any case, the doors into the church are typically closed since this is a small village and the priest is not in residence; he comes in from another town.  Usually, the doors are only open for mass or a funeral, and it is not appropriate for me to walk in and look at the architecture.

However, today, the doors were still open after Sunday mass, so I walked in to enjoy the architecture.  The more austere exterior hides the more elaborate but still simple interior.

It’s a beautiful church, and I’m glad I was finally able to go inside.