Basilica di Santa Trofimena

The Basilica of Santa Trofimena stands beside the seafront in Minori. Its crypt preserves the marble urn associated with the town's patron saint, beneath a church whose layered structure recalls its earlier roles as shrine and cathedral.

Why it matters

Minori was a diocesan seat from 987 until 1818. The basilica embodies that history, with an early shrine, a medieval cathedral and the eighteenth-century church incorporated into one site. The story of Saint Trofimena's relics is preserved in local religious tradition.

What to notice

The crypt beneath the presbytery has three short naves with sail vaults and a marble urn associated with the saint's relics. Above, the basilica follows a Latin-cross plan with three naves and a dome over the crossing. The interior includes a sixteenth-century Crucifixion attributed to Marco Pino da Siena, a marble pulpit commissioned by Bishop Tommaso Brandolino in 1616 and stucco work by Venanzio Conforto dating to 1800. Two apses of the earlier medieval cathedral remain visible outside.

Context and history

An early shrine on the site is dated to around 640 by the institutional account of the Amalfi Coast heritage property. A larger cathedral followed around 1093. Work on the present basilica began in 1747 under Bishop Silvestro Stanà, enclosing the earlier shrine within the structure that became the crypt. Minori's episcopal chapter ended in 1818, though the church retained its civic and religious importance.