Rome, Italy: Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere: Central Nave 2

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dc.contributor.authorSheppard, Beth M.
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-31T18:15:21Z
dc.date.available2024-07-31T18:15:21Z
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 the central nave of the church. The baldacchino over the high altar was constructed in 1294 by Arnolfo di Cambio. The apse mosaic dates back to the construction of the church by Pope Paschal I, as he appears in the mosaic with a square halo (or nimbus), indicating that he was alive when the mosaic was formed.
dc.identifier.otherSAM_3963.jpg
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14312/2561
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.subjectNaves
dc.subjectBaldacchinos
dc.subjectMosaics
dc.titleRome, Italy: Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere: Central Nave 2
dc.typeImage
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Rome: Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere