San Sebastiano

Saint Sebastian: sculpture by by Antonio Giorgetti.

If you visit even a few art galleries or churches in Europe, you will very soon come across Saint Sebastian. In fact, you may very well find yourself overwhelmed by Saint Sebastian, so ubiquitous - and gory - is his image. He's the handsome young man tied to a column, almost naked, and pierced with arrows.

Saint Irene Healing Sebastian's Wounds
Trophime Bigot (source)

You may be pleased to discover that he didn't die of those arrow wounds. Although he was left for dead on the Palantine Hill in Rome, he was rescued by Irene of Rome (who became Saint Irene for her pains). Why had he been tortured? Like so many early Christians, especially under the rule of Emperor Diocletian, he had earned the Emperor's wrath by preaching Christianity. In fact, he was a soldier - a  Praetorian Guard, no less. He came from a well-to-do family who had raised him as a Christian. When he joined the army - the Roman Emperor's troops - he proceed to evangelise anyone he could. He also performed quite a few miracles along the way, such as curing a deaf-mute woman.

Lodovico Carracci, the rare subject of
St. Sebastian Thrown into the Cloaca Maxima (1612)
(source)

So, as was the fate of many early Christian martyrs, Diocletian had him tortured. When the Emperor found out about his survival he had Sebastian clubbed to death and tossed off a cliff. His body was supposed to be inaccessible, in a pit, but divine intervention enabled the early Christians to find him, and they buried him outside the walls of Rome, in the Catacombs - today called the Catacombs of San Sebastiano. The year was 288 AD. Because Sebastian had been thought to have been killed by the arrows, and yet was not, and then later was killed by the same emperor who had ordered him shot, he is sometimes known as the saint who was martyred twice.

Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls

Interior of the Basilica.

Today his remains have been brought up from the Catacombs to a Basilica built just above them - the Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls, originally built in the 4th century AD. He - or bits of him - lie in a Baroque chapel decorated with a large marble sculpture of the saint - pierced, for all eternity, by cruel metal arrows. The sculpture of Saint Sebastian is by Antonio Giorgetti. The Relics Chapel directly across the nave houses one of the arrows which struck St. Sebastian, and part of the column to which he was tied during the martyrdom. Here is also kept the stone carrying the alleged footprints of Jesus related to the episode of "Quo vadis?" in the apocryphal Acts of Peter.

And he was such a handsome boy. He's the patron saint of soldiers and athletes, and can be relied upon to help stop the plague.

Quo vadis?

The Old Appian Way (source)

"Where are you going?" Saint Peter, leaving Rome, is said to have asked Christ, whom he is supposed to have met walking towards the city. Christ replied, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again." And where else could such a meeting have taken place than on the Old Appian Way?

The little 'Quo Vadis' Church.

The Church of St Mary in Palmis (Italian: Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Piante, Latin: Sanctae Maria in Palmis), better known as Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis, is a small church southeast of Rome... It is located on the Appian Way, on the site where, according to legend, St Peter met Jesus while Peter was fleeing persecution in Rome. According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?" (Latin: Domine, quo vadis?). Jesus answered, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again" (Latin: Eo Romam iterum crucifigi).

Inside the little church the Holy Meeting is recorded. Stones of the Appian Way cross the chapel, and a painting of Christ stands facing the city, while one of Peter faces the other way. And in the centre -- a marble block with the imprint of a pair of (rather large-sized) bare feet, said to be those of Christ. Actually, the marble block in the Quo Vadis church is, these days, a replica. The original is in safe-keeping in a chapel in the Basilica of San Sebastian Outside the Walls (a short way down the Appian Way). But all the same - pretty impressive, eh?

Domine, quo vadis?

Eo Romam iterum crucifigi.

As to the history of the little church, there has been a sanctuary on the spot since the ninth century, but the current church is from 1637 (the current façade is 17th century). It's possible that the sanctuary might have been even more ancient, perhaps a Christian adaption of some already existing temple. Of the connection with St Peter, Wiki says:

The presence of the Apostle Peter in this area, where he is supposed to have lived, appears to be confirmed in an epigraph in the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian that reads Domus Petri (English: House of Peter). An epigram by Pope Damasus I (366–384) in honour of Peter and Paul reads: "You that are looking for the names of Peter and Paul, you must know that the saints have lived here."

And the footprints? Well...

The two footprints on a marble slab at the centre of the church...are popularly held to be a miraculous sign left by Jesus. It is to these footprints that the official name of the church alludes: palmis refers to the soles of Jesus' feet. It is likely that these footprints are actually the draft of an ancient Roman "ex voto", a tribute paid to the gods for the good outcome of a journey. 

Leaving footprints...

The little church is popularly supposed to be a sanctuary for travellers, and used to bear an inscription inviting travellers to rest: "Stop your walking, traveller, and enter this sacred temple in which you will find the footprint of our Lord Jesus Christ when He met with St. Peter who escaped from the prison." Apt for a chapel along the Old Appian Way, that famous Roman road.

A traveller inside the Quo Vadis Church.

The Old Appian Way - Via Appia Antica - is generally said to begin today at Porto San Sebastiano in the Aurelian Walls, but when it was built in 312 BC it was an almost-straight 560 km road running from the area of the Circus Maximus all the way to Puglia in Southern Italy. Check this site which advises:

Today the Via Appia starts at the Aurelian wall, at the Porta San Sebastiano. The first part of the road is not exactly pedestrian friendly. It leads along the Quo Vadis church, the catacombs of San Callisto and the catacombs of San Sebastiano to the imposing tomb of Cecilia Metella. From here the road is paved with the authentic Roman stones. You can walk for many kilometres passing the remains of numerous historic tombs.

"The first part of the road is not exactly pedestrian friendly. "
The Old Appian Way today.

Check Wiki for lots of detail, and the information that:

The main part of the Appian Way was started and finished in 312 BC. The road began as a levelled dirt road upon which small stones and mortar were laid. Gravel was laid upon this, which was finally topped with tight fitting, interlocking stones to provide a flat surface. Some of the stones were said to fit so well that you could not slide a knife into the cracks. The road was crowned in the middle (for water runoff) and had ditches on either side of the road which were protected by retaining walls.

Today the first part of the Old Appian Way is a bit of a race track of vehicles and the old stones have been replaced by modern cobbles. But continue on down past the great ruined tomb of Cecilia Metella and you too can walk on the same stones as St Peter and - perhaps - Christ himself. Leave some footprints.

Oh, and we probably shouldn't leave this subject without mentioning the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, who was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize for Literature, partly in recognition of his novel "Quo Vadis":

The novel Quo Vadis tells of a love that develops between a young Christian woman, Ligia (or Lygia), and Marcus Vinicius, a Roman patrician. It takes place in the city of Rome under the rule of emperor Nero around AD 64. Sienkiewicz studied the Roman Empire extensively prior to writing the novel, with the aim of getting historical details correct. As such, several historical figures appear in the book. As a whole, the novel carries an outspoken pro-Christian message.
Published in instalments in three Polish dailies in 1895, it came out in book form in 1896 and has since been translated into more than 50 languages. This novel contributed to Sienkiewicz's Nobel Prize for literature in 1905. Several movies have been based on Quo Vadis including the 1925 Italian silent film Quo Vadis, the 1951 Hollywood production Quo Vadis and the 2001 adaptation by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. (source)

Bust of Sienkiewicz in the Quo Vadis church.

Via Appia Antica.

Saint Cecilia Revisited

Saint Cecilia - Stefano Maderno, 1599-1600

This blog has explored the story of Saint Cecilia before - following the tale told in the lovely frescoes of the Bentivoglio Chapel in Bologna. But to round out the story, I couldn't resist visiting a couple of the saint’s holy sites in Rome.

Frescoes in the Catacombs.
Early 9th century.

Deep underground in the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus is a space where Saint Cecilia’s body is said to have rested. The ancient man-made cave in which this space is located has been hollowed out and enlarged several times to accommodate all the pilgrims who wished to visit. The walls still have traces of ancient frescoes.

Saint Cecilia’s remains have long since been removed to her Basilica in Trastevere, but in the niche in the Catacombs is a replica of the sculpture of the saint by Stefano Maderno. The original was made in 1599-1600.

Copy of the Maderno sculpture in the catacombs of Saint Callixtus.

Wiki tells us that:

Stefano Maderno is best known for the seemingly unposed, naturalistic recumbent marble of Santa Cecilia in the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (1599–1600). The sculpture was a counter-statement to the current dry and hectic complications of Mannerism, to which it confronted a simple sweeping outline and a stark pose. This is not a sanitized hagiographical representation of a saint, but the graphic representation of an uncorrupted corpse, claimed to be positioned just as it had been found. The saint's tomb had been opened in 1599, and Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrato commissioned Maderno, aged 23 at the time, to recreate the martyr's body in marble. 

Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome.

Over in Trastevere, not only do Saint Cecilia’s remains (and some of her husband, St Valerian) rest in the crypt of the Basilica bearing her name, the church also has the original of the Maderno sculpture - a luminous white thing, remarkably modern in style. Cecilia lies forward on her face, her hair and face covered by a cloth, her white neck showing the axe wound that finally killed her, after several miraculous escapes from death. Her fingers form a ‘secret’ Christian symbol: 1, 2, 3 -- the Trinity. Here's Wiki again:

The pavement in front of the statue encloses a marble slab with Maderno's sworn statement that he has recorded the body as he saw it when the tomb was opened in 1599. The statue depicts the three axe strokes described in the 5th-century account of her martyrdom. It also is meant to underscore the incorruptibility of her cadaver (an attribute of some saints), which miraculously still had congealed blood after centuries. 

Hmmm....

"Behold the body of the most holy virgin, Cecilia, whom I myself saw lying uncorrupt in her tomb. I have in this marble expressed for thee the same saint in the very same posture and body."

The day that I visited Saint Cecilia’s Basilica in Trastevere, the Benedictine nuns were singing an afternoon service for Saint Martin’s Day (but he’s another story), their wavering and rather tuneless voices drifting up into the church rafters. Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of music, so 'm sure she'll appreciate the effort. BTW, this site suggests that "the origin of this seems to be found in the antiphon taken from her Acts: “As the musical instruments (at her wedding feast) were playing, Cecilia sung (in her heart) to the Lord, saying: ‘May my heart remain unsullied, so that I be not confounded’.” 

The Basilica dates from the 5th century, rebuilt in 822. Tradition has it that it is built where Saint Cecilia lived, before her career took a nose-dive to martyrdom. She lived in Trastevere? Who would have thought?

St Martin's Day in the Basilica of Saint Cecilia, Trastevere.

Catacombs

Ready to go...down....?

Inside the Catacombs of San Callixtus.

Rome has a population of about 2.7 million people - living people, that is. Its ghosts number millions more. And nowhere are these ghosts more apparent than in Rome's catacombs -- kilometres of tunnels dug in the tufa rock under the ground in areas outside of Rome's walls, where the early Christians buried their dead. Along the old Appian Way the Christians of the first, second and third centuries AD - before Constantine converted all Romans to Christianity - dug deep into the soft tufa rock to form networks of tunnels lined with niches for their dead.

The Catacombs of San Callixtus stretch for a winding 17 kilometres over four deep levels. You can visit them with a guide, and see the regular niches for the poor, family vaults painted with Christian-themed frescoes, and larger chapels, some where early popes (bishops) were buried. Originally martyrs were buried in the Catacombs, resulting in everyone wishing to be interred nearby. The "important" bones have long since been removed. The Catacombs were seals many centuries ago, to guard against looting, with many only re-discovered in the q9th century. San Callixtus was excavated by Giovanni Battista de Rossi, who is sometimes called "the founder of modern Christian archaeology."

The "star" of the San Callixtus Catacombs is our old friend, Saint Cecilia. You can stand quietly before the spot where she's said to have been interred, which now houses a replica of the Stefano Maderno sculpture of the saint (made in 1599-1600), in the naturalistic and sombre pose in which her remains are said (or imagined) to have been found.

Saint Cecilia's resting place, Catacombs of San Callixtus.

Catacombs of San Callixtus.

Next along the Old Appian Way is the "Basilica of San Sebastian Outside the Walls" (San Sebastiano fuori le Mura), built above more Catacombs. These are nearly as extensive at Callixtus, but as your guide leads you down you may find the tunnels here narrower, the ceilings lower and the experience a little more claustrophobic. Everywhere are the symbols of Christianity, including a fish (a crude early acronym: the Ancient Greek word for "fish" apparently forms and acronym referring to Christ. Obscure now, perhaps, but presumably effective short-hand in an era of illiteracy and persecution.)

Pilgrims' graffiti, San Sebastiano.

Pagan tomb, San sebastiano.

San Sebastiano was, as you might expect, the site where the poor arrow-riddled saint was interred when he was martyred in 288 AD - though he recovered from the arrow-wounds, apparently, and was in fact beaten to death. His actual remains are up above now, in the Basilica. The first church here was a great basilica built in the early 4th century over several pagan tombs and parts of a Roman villa. Initially it was called Basilica Apostolorum, the Basilica of the Apostles, and was dedicated to SS Peter and Paul. This was because there was a tradition that the relics of these two apostles had been transferred here for safe-keeping during a persecution in the reign of the emperor Valerian, 238. Surviving graffiti in the catacombs bear out this tradition -- the Basilica is one of the seven great pilgrimage churches of Rome.

San Sebastiano. In his Basilica Outside the Walls.

On your tour of the Catacombs you can see the ancient pilgrims' graffiti on terracotta shards; and several pagan tombs, once in the open-air but now below ground. As to Saints Peter and Paul, St Peter is of course buried under the big Basilica of his name in Vatican City. St Paul is said to be buried somewhere out towards Ostia. It was difficult to keep track of everybody when they were members of an outlawed religion.

But at the Catacombs of the Old Appian Way, the ghosts still gather.

Garibaldi

Garibaldi watches over Rome.

Garibaldi.

On top of the Janiculum Hill in Rome, it's difficult to avoid reminders of a grim time in 1849, when Garibaldi and his Garibaldini fought for the "freedom of Rome" against troops, mostly French, who had mustered at the behest of the Pope to prevent the city being taken over by the political faction that wanted to "unite Italy." They lost the battle, but - eventually - they won the war, and modern-day Italy's "risorgimento" ("revival") began.

The Janiculum Hill was the battle site, and today you can find all kinds of reminders, from a cannonball embedded in the wall of a church, to a fine white marble commemorative monument, to rows of busts of the "patriots" who died, to a massive equestrian statue of Garibaldi himself.

Porto San Pancrazio

The Porto San Pancrazio (once called the Porta Aurelia) stands at the highest point on the Janiculum Hill, and now houses a small museum dedicated to the exploits of Garibaldi and the fortunes of the Roman Republic of the19th century.

Garibaldini uniforms (he wore the one on the left).

Inside you can see a jacket that Garibaldi wore, the recognisable Garabaldini caps, relief maps of the Hill to trace the battle lines, and details of the excellent though short-lived Constitution declared by the so-called 'Triumvirate': Mazzini, Saffi and Armellini (in early 1849). The whole 19th century Italian risorgimento makes a complicated story, but is covered in detail by the Wiki entry, here, if you're interested.

Armellini, Mazzini, Saffi.

A Constitution is declared.

An excerpt from the short Constitution: "...it defends the Italian."

Anita rides again.

Rome has a massive statue of Mazzini on the slopes of the Aventine Hill, looking across the Campus Maximus towards the Palantine. But The Janiculum Hill, with its gorgeously unparalleled views of the city, is Garibaldi's memorial. His massive equestrian statue sits atop the Hill, and dozens of white busts of the patriots line the edges of the parks. There are memorial walls, a small monument to the youngest patriot, a boy from the back streets of Trastevere, and -- my personal favourite -- a smaller equestrian statue of Garibaldi's young South American wife Anita: in her twenties, clutching her new-born baby to her bosom and waving a pistol. She fought alongside Garibaldi on the Janiculum, and died soon afterwards.



Dramatic times. 2011 was the 150th anniversary of the Risorgimento and here's a news report about the restoration work that was done on the Hill in time for the celebrations:

The monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi on Rome’s Janiculum hill is being restored in time for the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, and will be unveiled by the president of the Italian republic Giorgio Napolitano on 17 March. The statue of Garibaldi on horseback, which dates to 1895 and is the work of Florentine sculptor Emilio Gallori, is among 100 works on the Janiculum being restored in an €18.5 million programme. 

Also being restored is the bronze of Garibaldi’s Brazilian wife Anita, depicted on horseback with a baby in one hand and a pistol in the other. It was sculpted in 1932 by Mario Rutelli, the grandfather of former mayor of Rome Francesco Rutelli. Other works include the landlocked Manfredi lighthouse, which was a gift to the city from Italians living in Argentina in 1911, and 83 marble busts along the Janiculum Walk, some of which were vandalised last summer.  

The three-month restoration of the 25-metre monument proved a challenge for the six experts. They found the Baveno granite to be contaminated with limescale which they treated with antioxidants and they discovered that water had seeped inside the statue and was slowly corroding the interior. One brave member of the team worked from inside the stomach of the 800kg horse, applying layers of paint and wax to seal it from further leaks.
The monument will be covered until the day of the ceremony in order to prevent vandalism from graffiti artists. 

A very Roman report. I can advise that Garibaldi's monument stands today free of graffiti and looking out across the city for which he fought.

The Patriots.

It was a serious business.

Guiseppe Garibaldi.

The "Minor" Ruins

A few bits and pieces...

Coliseum? The Forum? The Palantine Hill? Baths of Caracalla? Too much? It seems that wherever you go in central Rome - and certainly wherever you dig - there’ll be a Roman-era ruin of some sort. It must be a headache for the city - every time they try to lay a water main or build a subway, they have to deal with yet another precious archaeological site. And the ruins above ground need to be propped up, made safe, protected from the elements. Quite a responsibility.

Here’s a few of the “minor” ruins you may come across in the streets around the ancient Roman centre:

Largo Argentina

Now one of the major transport hubs in the old city and the place to find a taxi or a tram, Largo Argentina also has the ruins of four Roman temples (and a large colony of cats). It was also the area where Pompey’s Theatre was situated - the Senate met there in the 1st century AD, and it’s the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Largo Argentina

Pompey's Theatre -- as it was.

Ludus Magnus

The Ludus Magnus lies to the east of the Coliseum, and was built by the Emperor Domitian in 81-96 AD, as Rome’s foremost training academy for gladiators. It was discovered “by chance” (roadworks?) in 1937. It had a colonnaded courtyard surrounded by gladiators’ quarters and was connected to the Coliseum via a tunnel. Today the scrappy ruins are enhanced by the casual placing of a wooden table or a leather-strap bed, as if the gladiators had just stepped outside to wrestle a lion.

Ludus Magnus -- no gladiators in residence...

Teatro di Marcello

Three levels remain (sort of) of the circular walls of this teatro, looking something like a mini Coliseum - which it pre-dates. One end of it, and its top level, has been subsumed into adjacent buildings and provides residential apartments. The other end is propped up with scaffolding until there’s time and money to do more. It was built in the closing years of the Roman Republic (1st century AD), and is named after an uncle of Augustus. It was the place to go for open-air performances of drama and song and could hold 11,000 spectators in its heyday.

Teatro di Marcello. It's changed a bit.

Portico d’Ottavia

The Portico of Octavia was built by the Emperor Augustus (born ‘Octavian’) between 27 and 23 BC, and was dedicated to his sister Octavia. It replaced an older portico of Metellus (146 BC). Most of the bits left date from after a fire in 203 AD. It is presently under restoration - it’s turn must have come in the budget, perhaps - and there are good interpretive signs. The structure was a four-sided portico with long sides closed off by thick brick walls. The front was lined in columns and there was a monumental entrance. In the middle ages the town crowded around the portico and a fish market was located here. The nearby church is called Sant’Angelo in Pescheria (“at the Fish Market”). The portico has slabs of marble engraved with fish measurements and rules about who could have the biggest fish head (municipal bigwigs - some things never change).

Portico d’Ottavia. Or the Fish Market

Fish Rules.

Tempio di Portunus

As you walk along Via Teatro di Marcello until it joins up with Via Aventino, you’ll pass a number of quite well restored sites, most in their present reasonable state due to the attention of Mussolini, who tided things up before Hitler visited town. 

One small building you’ll see, currently surrounded by the ubiquitous chain-wire fencing, is a small temple to the god Portunus. This area was the ancient Forum Boarium by the Tiber and during antiquity the temple overlooked the Port Tiberinus at a sharp bend in the river. From here, the god Portunus could watch over cattle-barges as they entered the city from Ostia.

Tempio di Portunus. Watching over the port.

Temple of Vesta or Temple of Hercules Victor

Not to be confused with the House of the Vestal Virgins, with its own round temple, in the Forum, this small round temple sits alone now in a piazza with a renaissance fountain. (It’s just across from Santa Maria in Cosmedin and La Bocca della Verità). This small 2nd century BC temple is one of the earliest surviving marble structures in Rome. It’s usually thought to be a temple to Vesta because it’s round, but others say it’s a Temple to Hercules the Victorious (Tempio di Ercole Vincitore). 

Vesta or Hercules? 

Omobono Sanctuary - working on it...

Omobono Sanctuary

Back along the road from the Forum Boarium there’s a prime example of what happens when you start digging in Rome. In the 1930s the area in front of S. Omobono was saved from development by an enthusiastic archaeologist, and they’ve been working on the site ever since. It seems to have been two major temples placed side by side, to the goddesses Fortuna and Mater Matuta, built and rebuilt through the 6th century BC (that’s old, even for Rome).

Arch of Janus

The Romans loved building triumphal arches, and they;re still littered today over the whole geographical spread of their Empire. (Wiki has a list - here.)

The rather spectacular Arch of Janus sits on a side street, behind chain-wire, and overlooked by crumbling apartment blocks. But it’s worth as close a look as you can get. The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal arch preserved in Rome. It was built in the early 4th century AD, using spolia, possibly in honour of Constantine I or Constantius II. The name Janus was applied later, and is derived from the structure's four-fronted, four-arched configuration - related to the four-faced version of Janus (Ianus Quadrifons), as well as to actual Janus-related structures mentioned in historic descriptions of ancient Rome.

The Arch of Janus. Beautiful. 4th century AD.