Built between 1769 and 1775 to designs by architect Joseph Promperg, the Basilica dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo occupies a site in Cortina d'Ampezzo that has hosted churches since the 13th century. Designated a minor basilica on 7 January 2011, the church sits between Corso Italia and Via del Mercato and was part of the Diocese of Bressanone until 1964, when it joined the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre.
What to see
The interior features a single-nave layout representative of late 18th-century taste, with a spacious presbytery lit by two large rectangular windows. Tyrolean painter Franz Anton Zeiller decorated the nave walls between 1774 and 1775, while the ceiling cycles were painted in 1859 by local artist Giuseppe Ghedina. Key artworks include a carved altar by Andrea Brustolon, a canvas by 19th-century painter Luigi Gillarduzzi, and relics attributed to Saint Liberalis and Saint Theophilus.
In the choir loft above the main entrance stands the pipe organ built in 1954 by the Mauracher company of Linz, which was restored in 2002 by organ builder Andrea Zeni. The instrument features 3,078 pipes and three manuals, retaining components from an earlier 1777 organ crafted by Venetian maker Gaetano Callido.
Outside, the town skyline is dominated by the 65.8-metre bell tower known as "el cianpanin", erected between 1852 and 1858 by local architect Silvestro Franceschi. Its bells were cast by the Grassmayr foundry in Innsbruck and include the 3,074 kg main bell "el Cianpanon", the funeral bell from Santa Caterina, a clock bell, and a historical fire-warning bell mounted on the exterior wall.
Visiting
As the active seat of the parish deanery, the basilica is open for daily religious services. Those interested in the town's bell-ringing traditions can listen every Friday at 3:00 PM, when "el Cianpanon" tolls alone in memory of Christ's death, a custom otherwise saved for major feast days.
Our editors' tip
Spend extra time examining Andrea Brustolon's altar work inside the nave, an impressive example of Venetian woodcarving techniques integrated into the Alpine region.