Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio - L'Aquila

A view of Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio, in L'Aquila, Italy, on September 6, 2019. Santa Maria di Collemaggio is a large medieval church in L'Aquila, central Italy. It was the site of the original Papal Jubilee, a penitential observation devised by Pope Celestine V, who is buried there. The church, which therefore ranks as a basilica because of its importance in religious history, sits in isolation at the end of a long rectangular sward of grass at the southwest edge of the town. On 28 and 29 August of each year in L'Aquila renews the solemn rite of Celestinian Forgiveness, a plenary indulgence perpetual granted by Pope Celestine V, the night of his coronation as Pope, granted a plenary indulgence to those who 'truly repented and confessed' entered through the Holy Door of Basilica di Collemaggio, between 28 and 29 August.