St Anthony of Padua: The Red Brick Basilica
Why is it significant?
Turn in through the gateway between the two apartment blocks, and the crowds of İstiklal fall away behind you. In front of you rises a church of warm red brick, with pointed arches and slender columns, like something lifted from a canal in Venice.
Key Facts
| Place | St Anthony of Padua: The Red Brick Basilica |
|---|---|
| Address | Tomtom, İstiklal Caddesi No:171, 34433 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye |
| Geo Coordinates | 41.03230, 28.97720 |
| Part of Walk | Across the Golden Horn: Hidden Galata and Pera, Istanbul |
| Generated | Generated |
Turn in through the gateway between the two apartment blocks, and the crowds of İstiklal fall away behind you. In front of you rises a church of warm red brick, with pointed arches and slender columns, like something lifted from a canal in Venice.
This is the Church of St Anthony of Padua, the largest Catholic church in İstanbul. It was built between 1906 and 1912 for the Italian and Levantine Catholic community of Pera, designed by the architect Giulio Mongeri. Notice the clever arrangement: the two apartment blocks on the avenue belong to the church, and their rents helped pay for it, in the same way that the shops under the old mosques paid for the prayer halls above them.
Now find the statue in the courtyard. It shows Angelo Roncalli, who lived in İstanbul from 1935 to 1944 as the Vatican's apostolic delegate to Turkey, and preached in this church. He learned some Turkish, made friends across the city, and during the war is remembered for helping Jewish refugees. In 1958 he became Pope John XXIII, and İstanbul still remembers him fondly as the Turkish-loving pope.
Step inside, quietly. On almost any day you will see people of different faiths lighting candles here, Christians and Muslims side by side, and especially on Tuesdays, the day traditionally devoted to Saint Anthony, the patron of lost things. In a city with this much history, there is a lot to look for.
Pera once had many communities and many churches like this one, and the avenue outside was where they met. Their numbers have shrunk dramatically over the last century, which makes the buildings that remain all the more precious. Come back out onto İstiklal and turn right, up the avenue. In a few minutes the street opens into a small square, where a great iron gate faces a glass-roofed passage. That is the end of the walk.