San Sebastiano al Palatino

Last updated
San Sebastiano al Palatino
Sancti Sebastiani in Monte Palatino (in Latin)
Campitelli - san Sebastiano al Palatino - facciata 01620-1.JPG
The church
San Sebastiano al Palatino
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
41°53′22.84″N12°29′19.14″E / 41.8896778°N 12.4886500°E / 41.8896778; 12.4886500
LocationVia di San Bonaventura, Rome
Country Italy
Denomination Roman Catholic
Tradition Roman Rite
Website Official website
History
Status Titular church
Dedication Saint Sebastian
Architecture
Architectural type Church
Style Baroque
Administration
District Lazio
Province Rome
Clergy
Cardinal protector Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien

San Sebastiano al Palatino is a church on the northeastern corner of the Palatine Hill in Rome. It is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, a late-third-century Christian martyr under the reign of Diocletian. According to legend, the church was built on the site of the saint's "first" martyrdom with arrows, which was unsuccessful.

Contents

History and excavation

The medieval church is accessed from the Via Bonaventura, from the Forum. It sits on a rectangular terrace, 110 by 150 metres, whose brick substructure dates back to the reign of the final Flavian Emperor, Domitian. Excavations carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century revealed the concrete foundation of a peripteral temple, 60 metres long and 40 metres wide. [1] It may be the remains of the unidentifiable Temple of Divus Augustus, which was dedicated in the first century CE and rebuilt by Domitian after it was destroyed in a fire. [2] It may also be the temple built by the emperor Elagabalus in the third century. [1]

The temple was replaced by a church and an attached monastery in the tenth century. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Sebastian, and Saint Zoticus, which can be read in an inscription that also contains the name of the founder of monastery, a physician named "Peter". [3] Originally the church was known as Santa Maria in Pallara, after the Palladium, the ancient image of Athena from Troy which - along with some of the most sacred objects in pagan Rome - was allegedly kept in a pagan temple on the same site. In 1061, the church was given to the abbot of Montecassino. It was then dedicated to Saint Sebastian. The structure that stands today is the result of a rebuilding in 1624 by the Barberini family, during the rule of Pope Urban VIII. [3]

Detail of the fresco, with Jesus at the centre SSebastianoPalatino.tiff
Detail of the fresco, with Jesus at the centre

Decoration

The exterior of the church is relatively unadorned, and the same goes for most of the interior. The apse is decorated with the frescoes that were preserved from the tenth century renovation. The style of the artwork is typical of that employed by medieval Roman workshops. The apse conch is decorated with two registers; the top register contains the figure of Jesus flanked by four saints, Sebastian being on the left. The lower register contains the Virgin Mary, flanked by angels and female saints. The lowest part of the apse was altered and repainted with the busts of Saint Sebastian, Saint Benedict, and Saint Zoticus. [3]

Saint Sebastian

Saint Sebastian was a devout Christian who was educated in Milan. Because of his faithful military service and reliability, he was appointed as a leader of the praetorian guard. In this position, he was forced to conceal his Christian identity. In a community of Christians in Rome, Sebastian was responsible for converting several friends to Christianity, until they were all arrested and martyred; Sebastian was the final martyr. His sentence was one befitting a soldier of the praetorian guard, where he had to act as a target for bow-and-arrow practice. This did not kill him, and he was rescued by a woman named Irene, who nursed him back to health. When he was able, he confronted the emperor Diocletian about his sins, namely the persecution of Christians. The emperor ordered him to be beaten to death, and thrown into the Cloaca Maxima. Sebastian's body was removed by another pious woman, Lucina, and he was buried in the catacombs at a church which would later be called San Sebastiano fuori le mura. [4] He is buried near the tombs of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. His story was recorded in the 5th century.

The interior of the church Campitelli - san Sebastiano al Palatino - interno 01622.JPG
The interior of the church

Titular church

On 5 March 1973, San Sebastiano al Palatino was established as a Cardinal titular church. American Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien is the church's current Cardinal-Deacon, created on February 18, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica. [5]

List of Cardinal-Deacons

Related Research Articles

The 300s decade ran from January 1, 300, to December 31, 309.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica</span> Type of building in classical and church architecture

In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name to the basilica architectural form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Sebastian</span> 3rd-century Christian saint and martyr

Sebastian was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

Cyriacus, sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them martyrs, who bear this name, of whom only seven are honoured by a specific mention of their names in the Roman Martyrology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasia of Sirmium</span> Christian saint and martyr

Saint Anastasia is a Christian saint and martyr who died at Sirmium in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated as St. Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, i.e. "Deliverer from Potions". This epithet is also translated as "One who Cures (Wounds)" in Lampe's A Patristic Greek Lexicon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campitelli</span> Rione of Rome in Lazio, Italy

Campitelli is the 10th rione of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. X, and is located in the Municipio I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churches of Rome</span>

There are more than 900 churches in Rome, which makes it the city with the largest number of churches in the world. Almost all of these are Catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Sebastiano fuori le mura</span> Church in Rome, Italy

San Sebastiano fuori le mura, or San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas, is a minor basilica in Rome, Central Italy. Up to the Great Jubilee of 2000, San Sebastiano was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, and many pilgrims still favour the traditional list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santi Quattro Coronati</span> Church in Rome, Italy

Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient basilica in Rome, Italy. The church dates back to the fourth or fifth century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal Palace with the Saint Silvester Chapel, and the monastery with its cosmatesque cloister is built in a silent and green part of Rome, between the Colosseum and San Giovanni in Laterano, in an out-of-time setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Crowned Martyrs</span> Martyrs and saints in Early Christianity

The Four Crowned Martyrs or Four Holy Crowned Ones were nine individuals who are venerated as martyrs and saints of Early Christianity. The nine saints are divided into two groups:

  1. Severus, Severian(us), Carpophorus (Carpoforus), Victorinus
  2. Claudius, Castorius, Symphorian (Simpronian), Nicostratus, and Simplicius
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Antoninus and Faustina</span> Ancient religious monument in Rome, Italy

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, which was later converted into a Roman Catholic church, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda or simply "San Lorenzo in Miranda". It is located in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bartolomeo all'Isola</span> Roman Catholic basilica, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 998 by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and contains the putative relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. It is located on Tiber Island, on the site of the former temple of Aesculapius, which had cleansed the island of its former ill-repute among the Romans and established its reputation as a hospital, continued under Christian auspices today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Susanna</span> Christian martyr

Susanna of Rome was a Christian martyr of the Diocletianic Persecution. Her existing hagiography, written between about 450 and 500 AD, is of no historical value and the relations it attributes to Susanna are entirely fictitious. It is probable that a real martyr named Susanna lies behind the literary invention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Teodoro, Rome</span> Church in Rome, Italy

San Teodoro, informally known as San Toto, is an early medieval church in Rome dedicated to the martyr and warrior saint Theodore of Amasea. Its use was given to the Eastern Orthodox community of Rome by Pope John Paul II in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrus and John</span>

Saints Cyrus and John are venerated as martyrs. They are especially venerated by the Coptic Church and surnamed Wonderworking Unmercenaries because they healed the sick free of charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoghakat Church</span>

The Church of Shoghakat was erected in 1694 by Prince Aghamal Sorotetsi during the reign of Catholicos Nahabed I in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), in Armenia's Armavir Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome</span> Roman Catholic basilica, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a titular church in Rome, Italy. The lower portion of the building is accessible through the Roman Forum and incorporates original Roman buildings, but the entrance to the upper level is outside the Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)</span> Day in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar

December 22 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 24

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catacombs of San Sebastiano</span> Cemetery in Rome, Italy

The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are a hypogeum cemetery in Rome, Italy, rising along Via Appia Antica, in the Ardeatino Quarter. It is one of the very few Christian burial places that has always been accessible. The first of the former four floors is now almost completely destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene</span> Subject of many religious artworks

Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene is an incident in the legends of Saint Sebastian and Saint Irene of Rome. It was not prominent in the hagiographical literature until the late Renaissance, and is hardly seen in art before then. As an artistic subject, normally in painting, it suddenly became popular from the 1610s, though found in predella scenes as early as the 15th century, and was most popular until about the 1670s.

References

  1. 1 2 Gigli, Laura (1975). S. Sebastiano Al Palatino. Instituto Di Studi Romani. p. 9.
  2. Amanda., Claridge (2010). Rome : an Oxford archaeological guide. Toms, Judith., Cubberley, Tony. (2nd ed., rev. and expanded ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 93. ISBN   9780199546831. OCLC   689548463.
  3. 1 2 3 Marchiori, Laura (2009). "Medieval Wall Painting in the Church of Santa Maria in Pallara, Rome: The Use of Objective Dating Criteria". Papers of the British School at Rome. 77: 225–344. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000088. S2CID   193226704.
  4. Michael, Lapidge (2018). The Roman martyrs : introduction, translations, and commentary (First ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom. pp. 88–91. ISBN   978-0198811367. OCLC   987903446.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Cheney, David M. "San Sebastiano al Palatino (Cardinal Titular Church) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2017-05-14.