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Chiesa di Santa Anastasia al Palatino

Typology: Small Basilica

Address

Address: Piazza di Sant'Anastasia, 1
Zone: Rione Campitelli (Foro Romano- Campidoglio-P.Venezia) (Roma centro)

Contacts

Opening times

For the timetable of the masses and visiting conditions, please consult the contacts.

Description

The church has very ancient origins as it was already present in the second half of the 4th century. It stands on the remains of the house of the husband of the saint, who died a martyr's death in 304 in Dalmatia. Enlarged in 700 under Leo III, it was rebuilt under Sixtus IV in 1478.

Underneath the church are the archaeological remains of an insula from the imperial era.

The façade by Luigi Arrigucci (mid-17th century) has two orders and twin bell towers. The three-nave interior has a coffered ceiling on which Michelangelo Cerruti's 'Martyrdom of St Anastasia' is depicted. Under the altar is a statue of the titular saint.

The church houses Pier Francesco Mola's painting of St John the Baptist in the Desert from around 1658 and several canvases by Lazzaro Baldi. In the left transept is the monumental tomb of the philologist and cardinal Angelo Mai, the work of the neoclassical sculptor Gianmaria Benzoni.

For more than 1,600 years, two very precious relics have been kept in this church: St Joseph's cloak and part of the veil of the Virgin 

Virgin. Inaccessible inside a 17th century reliquary, the two relics are hidden in a part of the church protected by a security door. Ever since the relics were brought to Rome from Jerusalem - by Saint Jerome, according to an inscription on the marble - they have been kept for centuries with very special security measures, imposed by the Vicariate of Rome, that do not allow them to be exposed to the faithful except for exceptional celebrations.

Last checked: 2023-01-25 15:46