Images The basilica of Saint Simeon

Around the column of Saint Simeon, the first buildings that were built were a baptistery and a cruciform “martyrium”, the big church that was built in honour of a saint who can be assimilated to a martyr. In that manner, the site perfectly met the demands of the pilgrims, and was suitable to accommodate increasingly large crowds. On one side they could find the relics of the saint, enclosed in a precious box, on the other side, the baptistery, to be baptised upon their arrival. The other spaces were inserted later within and around the cruciform structure, and according to funds.