The street frontage
of the St. Antoine church complex. Built next to the site of the celebrated Theatre Concordia, foundation stone of the basilica laid in 1906, completed in 1911 and first opened in 1913. The original S. Antonio di Padova Cathedral was built in 1725 by the local Italian community of Istanbul, but was later demolished and replaced with the current building which was constructed on the same location. Along with the St. Esprit Cathedral (1846) in the Harbiye district, St. Louis of the French (1581) and Santa Maria Draperis in Beyoğlu, Sts. Peter and Paul (1841) in Galata, Assumption Church in the Moda quarter of Kadıköy, St. Stephen in Yeşilköy and Bakırköy Church in Bakırköy, it is one of the most important Catholic churches in Istanbul, and among them has the largest community following its masses.
The frontage
of the St. Antoine church, the building constructed by the Italian architects
Guilio
Mongeri and Edoardo de Nari.
Stone armorials
decorating the balcony topping the outer shops of the St. Antoine church.
Close-ups of
the heraldry on the opposite wing.
