Page 198 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

196  ROME AREA B Y AREA

8 San churches. Classical columns
Cesareo support the medieval portico,
and the 12th-century bell
Via di Porta San
Sebastiano. Map 9 A3. tower is superb. A tall cedar tree
Tel 338-491 6838. @ 218, shades an ancient well standing
628. Open 10am–4pm in the forecourt. The interior has
Sat, 10am–noon Sun. been restored, but it preserves
Closed Aug. the rare simplicity of its early
origins with ancient columns
This splendid old of varying styles lining the
church was built over aisles. Traces of early medieval
Roman ruins of the frescoes can still be seen within
2nd century AD. the church. The 12th-century
You can still admire frescoes show 46 different
Giacomo della Porta’s biblical scenes, from both
fine Renaissance the Old and New testaments,
facade, but by calling and are among the finest of
ahead to schedule a their kind in Rome.
visit, you can also see
Cosmatesque mosaic 0 San Giovanni
Fresco by Niccolò Pomarancio of the Martyrdom of work, and carving
St. Simon in Santi Nereo e Achilleo to rival that of any in Oleo
church in Rome. Via di Porta Latina. Map 9 C4.
7 Santi Nereo The episcopal throne, altar, and Tel 06-7740 0032. @ 628. & ask at
e Achilleo pulpit are decorated with San Giovanni a Porta Latina.
delightful animals. The church
Via delle Terme di Caracalla 28. was restored in the 16th century The name of this charming
Map 9 A3. Tel 06-687 3124. @ 160,
628, 671, 714. Open noon–12:30pm by Pope Clement VIII, whose coat octagonal Renaissance chapel
Sun (for half an hour only). 7 of arms decorates the ceiling. means “St. John in Oil.” The tiny
building marks the spot where,
According to legend, St. Peter, 9 San Giovanni a according to legend, St. John
after escaping from prison, was boiled in oil – and came
was fleeing the city when Porta Latina out unscathed, or even
he lost a Via di San Giovanni a Porta refreshed. An earlier chapel is
bandage from Latina. Map 9 B3. said to have existed on the site;
his wounds. Tel 06-7047 5938. the present one was built in the
The original @ 218, 360, 628. Open early 16th century. The design
church was 7:30am–12.30pm & has been attributed to Baldassare
founded here 3–7pm daily. 5 7 Peruzzi or Antonio da Sangallo
in the 4th the Younger. It was restored
century on The church of by Borromini, who altered the
the spot where “St. John at the Latin roof, crowning it with a cross
the bandage Gate” was founded supported by a sphere
fell, but it was later in the 5th century, decorated with roses. He also
rededicated to the rebuilt in 720, and added a terra-cotta frieze of
1st-century AD Detail of mosaic, restored in 1191. roses, and palm leaves. The wall
martyrs St. Nereus This is one of the paintings inside the chapel
and St. Achilleus. Santi Nereo e Achilleo most picturesque include one of St. John in a
Restored at the end of the old Roman cauldron of boiling oil.
of the 16th century, the
church has retained many
medieval features, including
some fine 9th-century
mosaics on the triumphal
arch. A magni ficent pulpit
rests on an enormous
porphyry pedestal that was
found nearby in the Baths of
Caracalla. The walls of the side
aisles are decorated with grisly
16th-century frescoes by
Niccolò Pomarancio, showing
in clinical detail how each of
the Apostles was martyred. Fresco, San Giovanni a Porta Latina

US_196-197_EW_Rome_US.indd 196 15/03/17 4:20 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.9)
Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm