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A forum
The basilica stands where the Roman forum of Trajan was
The basilica was built with private funds between 1872 and 1896, in a dominant position over the city. The site was once the Roman forum of Trajan, the forum vetus, and the name Fourvière is an inverted corruption of the French Vieux-Forum.
A promise
Candles in the windows thank the Virgin for sparing the city
The Virgin Mary is credited with saving Lyon from the plague of 1643. Each year on 8 December, the day of the Immaculate Conception, Lyon thanks her by lighting candles throughout the city, in the Fête des Lumières. She is also credited with saving the city from cholera in 1832 and from Prussian invasion in 1870.
The elephant
Locals call it the upside-down elephant
Pierre Bossan designed the basilica using Romanesque and Byzantine architecture, unusual choices at the time. It has four main towers and a bell tower topped with a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary. Locals nickname it the upside-down elephant, because the towers look like the elephant's legs.
Two churches
Two churches sit one on top of the other
Fourvière actually contains two churches, one on top of the other. The upper sanctuary is very ornate, while the lower is much simpler. Work began in 1872 and the structure was finished in 1884, but the finishing touches in the interior were not completed until as late as 1964.
The choir
The basilica's boys' choir became known through a film
Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc, the Children's Choir of Saint Mark, is the official choir of the basilica. It became well known after the release of the 2004 film Les Choristes.
Day 2, morning
Next is Roman Theatres of Fourvière.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.