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Home > Italy Travel Guide > San Sebastiano fuori le mura

San Sebastiano fuori le mura

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Introduction
History
Location

ATTRACTIONS

What's to see

USEFUL INFORMATION

Useful information
Links

Introduction

San Sebastiano fuori le Mura or San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas is an ancient basilica dedicated to St Sebastian, a 3rd century Roman martyr. It was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, (the others being San Giovanni in Laterano, San Pietro in Vaticano, San Paolo fuori le Mura, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and San Lorenzo fuori le Mura) up until the Pope replaced it with Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore for the Great Jubilee of 2000.

History

Built at the site of one of the catacombs and old cemeteries, in fact the word 'catacomb' comes from this site. The name ad catacumbas refers to the catacombs of St Sebastian, on which the church was built, while “fuori le mura” refers to the fact that the church is built outside the Aurelian Walls, and is used to differentiate the basilica from the church of San Sebastiano al Palatino.

The first church here was a great basilica built in the 4th century over several pagan tombs and parts of a Roman villa. It may have been constructed during Constantine's reign. In 258, during the Valerian persecutions, the catacombs were temporarily used as place of sepulture of two other saints martyrized in Rome, Peter and Paul, whose remains were later transferred to the two basilicas carrying their names: whence the original name of the church, “Basilica Apostolorum” the Basilica of the Apostles. In the 9th century, it was rededicated to St Sebastian, a Christian officer in the Praetorian Guard who was martyred in the reign of Diocletian, who was buried here. The last major reconstruction of the church's interior was started by Flaminio Ponzio in 1608, but several features have been added since, including the chapel situated above the tomb of St. Sebastian, which came later in the 17th century, and the wooden ceiling, which dates from the 18th.

Location

Address:136 Via Appia Antica, Piazzale San Paolo, I-00186 Rome, Italy.
Transit: Metro: San Paolo (line B) Bus: 23, 123, 170, 223, 673, 707, 766.

What's to see

The facade is from the 18th century, and it's a rebuilding rather than a reconstruction of the original facade. At the back of the church, reached by following the Via delle Sette Chiese, you can see what it originally looked like from the outside. Through a back entrance it will take you to part of one of the ancient aisles, which is very well preserved. There are ancient inscriptions and fragments of sculpture there, as well as a model of the ancient basilica. A well in there is of uncertain origins, but it was probably the shrine of St Quirinus, a 5th century bishop and martyr.

Beneath the center of the church is a meeting-hall (triclia) in which commemorative services were held, with large numbers of scratched inscriptions dating from the turn of the third-fourth centuries. Here can be seen numerous examples of the symbolic language of the early Christians - the fish (Greek ichthys, made up of the initials of the words “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”); the lamb, referring to Christ's sacrificial death; the anchor, a sign of trust; the dove as a symbol of peace. Here too, are tomb chambers on several levels (first century A.D.) with fine paintings, stucco decoration and inscriptions. A conducted tour of the whole underground complex of catacombs is recommended.

The chapel above the tomb of St Sebastian was ordered by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 17th century. At the shrine of St Sebastian is a statue of the dying saint by Antonio Giorgetti, one of Bernini's pupils. It may have been made after a drawing by Bernini himself.

Opposite that shrine is the Chapel of Relics, with the original footprint relic from Domine Quo Vadis, and an arrow said to be one of those that killed St Sebastian as well as the column he was tied to when he was killed. The chapel was designed in the 18th century by Carlo Fontana. The sarcophagus of Pope St Fabian (236-250) was discovered here in 1915.

Useful information

Telephone: +39 06 78 87 035
Open: 8:30pm-noon, 2:30pm-5:30pm, Mon-Sat; closed Nov.

Links

San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Photo's)

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