The Basilica of Sant'Eufemia (Italian: Basilica di Sant'Eufemia) is a minor basilica in Grado, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, formerly a cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Euphemia.
History
The present basilica made of bricks and sandstone stands on a fourth century basilica, of which not much is known. Although some features are still visible. Traces of a former narthex can be seen under the windows of the façade pointing southwest. The church was ordered built by Elijah, Archbishop of Aquileia, after his retreat from the invasion of the Lombards in 568. In 571 Elijah proclaimed himself patriarch and dedicated the church to Saint Euphemia.
During the sixth through early seventh century the basilica was the seat of the pro-Roman and pro-Byzantine branch of the church until the formation of the Patriarchate of Grado in 606.
Due to the dissolving of the Grado patriarchate into the new Patriarchate of Venice in 1451 the church lost the title of cathedral, but shortly after in 1455 the bell tower was built, possibly to compensate for this.
Alterations to the church were made in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, although these were partly removed in twentieth-century restorations.
Features
The brickwork of the basilica is mostly made of shells mixed with sand. The bell tower is topped with a cast copper weathervane statue of Archangel Michael, which has become a symbol of the city.
Much of the fame of the basilica comes from the incredibly well preserved sixth-century floor mosaics that decorate the basilica, as it is extremely rare to find the original floor mosaics preserved in an early Christian basilica.
Features from the fourth century basilica are visible in the nave, including a visible fragment of its floor mosaics and a Corinthian capital.
The half-dome of the apse is decorated with a thirteenth century Gothic fresco of Christ enthroned.
On the left side of the central nave stands a tall hexagonal pulpit of the last quarter of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th century, with a canopy adorned by sculptured decorations which appeal to be Islamic. The preacher's cage itself shows the Symbols of the Four Evangelists.
Next to the basilica, at its north end, stands the octagonal baptistery of which the sixth-century floor mosaics are also preserved. It has an apse protruding to the northeast corresponding to the church's axis. In the center of the interior space the bricks of the large hexagonal dipping basin is covered by marble.