San Cesareo de Appia

Coordinates: 41°52′43.24″N 12°29′49.62″E / 41.8786778°N 12.4971167°E / 41.8786778; 12.4971167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
San Cesareo de Appia
San Cesareo in Palatio
Chiesa di San Cesareo de Appia
Style
Baroque
Groundbreaking8th century
Completed17th century
Administration
DioceseRome

San Cesareo in Palatio or San Caesareo de Appia [san tʃeˈzaːreo de ˈappja] is a titular church in Rome, near the beginning of the Appian Way. It is dedicated to Saint Caesarius of Terracina, a 2nd-century deacon and martyr.

History

Origins

Side view
Painting by Achille Pinelli (c. 1826–35)

In the 4th century, Emperor Valentinian I's daughter was cured at the shrine of Caesarius at Terracina, the site of his martyrdom. The emperor (who reigned in AD 364–375) then decided to move his relics to Rome. They were taken to a church on the Palatine Hill, and when they were later moved to a new church, that church got the name "in Palatio", "at the Palace". It is also known as San Cesareo de Appia.[1]

Excavations have revealed a

Neptune and marine creatures, along with foundations of what is thought to be the first church here, built in the 8th century.[2]

Medieval

No written evidence exists for the church's origins; it is first mentioned in the written sources is 1192. In the Middle Ages, the church was part of a hospice and hospital for pilgrims, and had a column in front of it to demonstrate this.

17th century

The present church is the result of reconstruction work undertaken in 1602/3, supervised by the great historian Cardinal

Cesare Rosetti,[4][5] and depict the martyrdoms of St Caesarius and of several saints named Hippolytus, a compliment to Pope Clement VIII, whose baptismal name was Ippolito. It was Cavalier D'Arpino who also produced the design for the rare motif in the mosaic, God the Father.[6]

20th century

Another restoration occurred in the years 1955 to 1963.

John Paul II
was the titular cardinal of this church.

List of Cardinal Deacons

References

  1. ^ Guglielmo Matthiae, S. Cesareo De Appia, Roma, Tipografia Artistica editrice, 1955
  2. ^ Mariano Armellini, Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX, Roma 1891
  3. ^ Patrizia Tosini, Alberto Bianco, Daniele Ferrara, Arte e committenza nel Lazio nell'età di Cesare Baronio, Roma, Gangemi, 2009
  4. ^ E. Amadei, La chiesa di S . Cesareo «de Appia», in "Capitolium", 30, 1955
  5. ^ P. Tomassi, San Cesareo in Palatio, Roma, 1965
  6. ^ A Handbook of Rome; by John Murray, 11th edition (1872), page 137.

External links

  • "Beggar's Rome" - A self-directed virtual tour of S. Cesareo de'Appia and other Roman churches