Rome, Italy: Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere: Funerary Monument of Cardinal Sfondrati

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorSheppard, Beth M.
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-31T18:15:20Z
dc.date.available2024-07-31T18:15:20Z
dc.date.issuedMay 20, 2017
dc.descriptionLocated in Piazza di Santa Cecilia, the Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere (Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere) was built on the site of the house of a Roman martyr and her husband Valerian. Saint Cecilia was found guilty of trying to convert her husband and brother to Christianity and was martyred in 230 CE. She survived three days in a hot, steamy calidarium without suffocating, so a swordsman tried to behead her. He struck her three times, unsuccessfully, then dropped the sword in fear and ran away. She died three days later from her wounds. Saint Gregory the Great started construction of the basilica in the 6th century. Saint Cecilia's body was discovered intact in 820 in the catacombs of San Callisto after, legend says, a saint revealed its location to Pope Paschal I in a dream, and he ordered it to be transferred to the renovated church. In the 12th and 13th centuries the cloister, atrium, and bell tower were added to the basilica. Saint Cecilia's body was exhumed in 1599 during another renovation and was found still intact, wrapped in her white garment, with dried blood on her neck. A statue of this body, posed exactly how she was found, was sculpted by Stefano Maderno in 1600 and appears under the current altar, with her actual relics stored below. Today the basilica is under the care of the Benedictine nuns who live in the attached monastery. The site hosts one of the best archaeological sites in Rome. The photograph shows a funerary monument (tomb) within the loggia of the basilica. It is that of Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, the cardinal who arranged St. Cecilia's exhumation in 1599.
dc.identifier.otherSAM_3961.jpg
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14312/2559
dc.languageN/A
dc.metadata.catalogerRogers, Shelley
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-SA 4.0
dc.rights.holderSheppard, Beth M.
dc.sponsorThis image was made available, in part, through a generous grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
dc.subjectItaly
dc.subjectRome
dc.subjectBasilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
dc.subjectBasilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere
dc.subjectChurch Entrances
dc.subjectLoggias
dc.subjectFunerary Monuments
dc.subjectTombs
dc.subjectCardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati
dc.titleRome, Italy: Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere: Funerary Monument of Cardinal Sfondrati
dc.typeImage
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
SAM_3961_750px.jpg
Size:
702.34 KB
Format:
Joint Photographic Experts Group/JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF)
Download
Collections
Rome: Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere