Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse The largest Romanesque church
in Europe, the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse is notable
for its imposing architecture and important medieval sculptures
and frescoes. The first Bishop of Toulouse was Saturninus, who
in 250 AD met a violent death for refusing to worship pagan
gods. Roped to a sacrificial bull by mobs gathered on the steps
of the Capitoline Temple, St. Sernin was dragged down the main
street of Toulouse (then known as Tolosa) to his death. The
saint's body was buried by the local Christian community outside
the city walls, and his tomb was eventually covered with a
modest wooden oratory. The first shrine on the present site, a
little to the north of his original tomb, was built c.400-03 by
Bishop Exupere. The relics of St. Sernin attracted many pilgrims
from the start, but visitors really began to pour in with the
rise of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the early
11th century. Toulouse is along a main route to the Spanish
shrine, so a larger chur