Page 50 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

48  INTRODUCING ROME

Exploring Churches and Temples

There are more churches in Rome than there are days of the
year, so you will have to be selective. Catholic pilgrims have
always been drawn to the seven major basilicas: St. Peter’s,
the heart of the Roman Catholic church, San Giovanni in
Laterano, San Paolo fuori le Mura, Santa Maria Maggiore,
Santa Croce in Gerusa lemme, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura,
and San Sebastiano. These have a wealth of relics, tombs,
and magnificent works of art from many different periods.
Smaller churches can be equally fascinating, especially those
where the original character is preserved.

Temple of Antoninus and
Ancient Temples Faustina in the 11th century.
One pagan temple survives The Baroque facade, built in
virtually unaltered since it was 1602, looms behind the
erected in the 2nd century columns of the temple.
AD. The Pantheon, “Temple Another church that clearly 13th-century fresco by Pietro Cavallini
of all the Gods,” has a domed shows its ancient Roman in Santa Cecilia
interior quite different in origins is Santa Costanza,
structure from any other built as a mausoleum for were built over houses
church in Rome. It was Constantine’s daughter. It is where the earliest Christian
reconsecrated as a Christian a round church with some communities met and
church in the 7th century. splendid 4th-century mosaics. worshipped in secret to avoid
Other Roman temples have persecution. One church where
been incorporated into the different layers of earlier
Christian churches at various Early Christian and structures can clearly be seen
Medieval Churches
times. Two of these are in is San Clemente. At its lowest
the Forum; Santi Cosma e Some early basilicas – the level, it has a Mithraic temple of
Damiano was established in 5th-century Santa Maria the 3rd century AD. Other early
the Temple of Romulus in 526, Maggiore and Santa Sabina, churches include Santa Maria
while San Lorenzo in Miranda for example – retain much of in Cosmedin, with its impressive
was built on to the ruins of the their original structure. Other, Romanesque
even earlier, churches such as bell tower,
the 4th-century San Paolo and the
fuori le Mura and San fortified
Giovanni in Laterano still convent of
preserve their original basilica Santi Quattro
shape. San Paolo was rebuilt Coronati.
after a fire in 1823 destroyed Many Roman
the original building, and the churches,
San Giovanni of today dates most notably
from a 1646 reconstruction Santa
by Borromini. Both these Prassede,
churches still have their contain fine
medieval cloisters. early Christian
The impressive domed interior of the Santa Maria in Trastevere and medieval Cloister of San
Pantheon, which became a church in 609 and Santa Cecilia in Trastevere mosaics. Giovanni in Laterano

Unusual Floor plans
The design of Rome’s first churches
was based on the ancient basilica,
a rectangular building divided into
three naves. Since then there have been
many bold departures from this plan,
including round churches, square churches
based on the shape of the Greek cross,
as in Bramante’s plan for St. Peter’s, and,
in the Baroque period, even oval and
hexagonal ones. Pantheon (2nd century) Santa Costanza (4th century)

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