Basilica and Catacombs of San Sebastiano, Rome

Basilica and Catacombs of San Sebastiano, Rome

The Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le Mura was originally constructed in the 4th century on the site where the relics of Saints Peter and Paul had been temporarily safeguarded in the 3rd century.

The Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le Mura was originally constructed in the 4^th century on the site where the relics of Saints Peter and Paul had been temporarily safeguarded in the 3rd century. Dedicated to martyr San Sebastian, it contained his remains till they were transferred to St. Peter's Basilica in 826, prior to a Saracen assault when the church was destroyed. The current church was largely constructed in the 17^th-century by Giovanni Vasanzio. Until the Great Jubilee in 2000 this was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, i.e. the churches that all Roman Catholic pilgrims were expected to visit. However, at that time it was replaced by the Sanctuary of Divino Amore.

The white façade has an arcade of 3 arches on the lower level which correspond to the windows on the upper level. The granite columns of the arches are from the previous Constantinian basilica. The architrave is inscribed with the words 'SCIPIO CARD BVRGHESIVS S R E MAIOR POENITENTIARIVS AN DOM MDCXII' (Cardinal Scipione Borghese's Greater Penitentiary 1612 AD).

The interiors have a single nave with a carved wooden ceiling bearing the coat-of-arms of Cardinal Scipione Borghese and Pope Gregory XVI. The nave ends with a triumphal arch leading to the domed presbytery. The main altar by Flaminio Ponzio contains a canvas of Innocenzo Tacconi with the Crucifixion. Flanking the altar are busts of Saints Peter and Paul by Nicolò Cordier.

To the right, a niche has the famous Salvator Mundi (Bust of the Savior) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Chapel of Relics contains a stone with the footprints of Jesus, and one of the arrows that killed Saint Sebastian along with the column to which he was bound during his torture. Also on the right are the altars of Santa Francesca Romana and San Girolamo, and the Albani Chapel by Carlo Fontana with a statue by Francesco Papaleo depicting San Fabiano with angels.

On the left side, you can see the tombstone of Pope Damasus I, Chapel of San Sebastiano built by Ciro Ferri in 1672 which has a sculpture of the saint of Giuseppe Giorgetti, Chapel of the Crucifix, and side altars dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis.

Extending beneath the Basilica are the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, one of the smallest and most accessible Christian cemeteries in Rome. Located 10 metres below the floor, it was dug out on 4 levels but the first level is almost completely destroyed. The 2nd level retains frescoes, stucco work and epigraphs, along with 3 perfectly preserved mausoleums from the late 2nd century.

• The first is decorated with paintings of funeral banquets and the miracle at Jerash, and inscriptions by the owner Marcus Clodius Hermes.
• The second mausoleum, known as the Innocentiores, has stuccoes on the vault, Greek inscriptions of Latin words, and a graffiti with the initials ΙΧΘΥΣ which symbolizes 'Jesus Christ the Son of God the Savior'.
• The third is the mausoleum of Ascia, decorated with vines on pilasters.

A plastered wall features hundreds of invocations to Peter and Paul, engraved by worshippers in the 3rd and 4th centuries.