LEVOČA

LEVOČA. - A city in Slovakia, founded in 1245 and the centre of a German colony. The ancient centre of the county of Scepusio (Spiš), it is today a city of historical interest (well-preserved walls, old houses, museums, a fine town hall dating from 1615).

Important for the history of sacred art are: 1) the parish church of S. Giacomo, dating from the 14th century. More precious than its Gothic architecture are its wooden altars, especially the high altar, by master Paolo of L. 2) The church formerly belonging to the Minorites, later to the Jesuits, dating from the 14th century, Gothic in architecture but with an 18th-century Baroque interior. Beside it stands the ancient Gothic convent, with precious 15th-century frescoes, recently discovered. 3) Also Baroque is the Minorite church of 1715.

In the religious life of Slovakia, L. is important as the site of great pilgrimages to the sanctuary of the Madonna on the Marian Mountain, where, in the large neo-Gothic church (1903–14), a miraculous Gothic statue of the Madonna, dating from the 15th century, is venerated. The most memorable celebration was on 2 July 1947, when, in the presence of 130,000 pilgrims, the bishop of Scepusio consecrated his diocese to the Heart of Mary.