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Nazareth....
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The Upper Church
of the "New" Basilica of the Annunciation
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For a very long time, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land wanted to erect a church really worthy of the great mystery commemorated at
Nazareth. For various reasons, the idea had to be postponed time and time again. Finally, in 1951 the Custody put aside a preliminary design by the noted architect Antonio Barluzzi (he who had adorned the Holy Land with many of its finest churches) and commissioned Professor Giovanni Muzio to prepare fresh plans for a basilica.
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The upper church (above left) is 7.60 m. above the level of the lower. The inside dimensions are 44.60 by 27 metres. Space available for public worship (clear of the oculus, pillars, columns and altar-steps) is about 1160 square metres. The roof of the nave is 12 m. high, while, in the middle, the cupola rises 40 m. above the floor. The sanctuary is 9 m. wide. From the altar rails to the wall of the choir, inside the sanctuary, it is 18 m. deep. The choir measures 10 m. by 8. Eighteen metres above the sanctuary, there rises the baldachino in the shape of a pyramid, its apes corresponding to the
tabernacle.
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The Russian abbot Daniel, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1106-1107, found at
Nazareth "a large, high church with three altars." This is the magnificent
Crusader basilica erected by Tancred, prince of Galilee. He also endowed it with beautiful, costly vestments, as William of
Tyre (1096-1184) had noted. This building followed the lines of the
Byzantine structure but was of much more generous proportions. It was 76 m. Iong and 30 wide. |
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Remains of the Crusader Church |
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In 1730, when the Franciscans of the Holy Land erected the little church over the Grotto of the Annunciation, it was not possible to undertake any archaeological excavation. The reason is that the permission to build - won with great difficulty and at great cost - allowed only six months for all construction from beginning to end. Thus, there was barely time to level the ruins and put up the walls. |
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