Damous el Karita Basilica

The largest Early Christian church in Tunisia, Damous El-Karita Basilica (from Domus Caritatis), is a must-stop in the itinerary of admirers of Christian landmarks of great historical and religious value in the legendary town of Carthage. It lies on the west side of the main road to Sidi Bou Said near the cemetery of the Pères Blancs. The construction was excavated by P. Delattre in 1878. The nine-aisled church was 65m by 45m with some remains of grey pillars. The building encloses a tri-conical chapel, a baptistery (or a saint's tomb) and an underground well-preserved rotunda (9.5m in diameter) reached through a flight of stairs. Some parts of the church are ornamented with funeral inscriptions; while its ground was once paved with mosaic works (now almost completely disappeared).