Church in Rome, Italy
Santi Quattro Coronati
is an ancient
basilica
in
Rome
, Italy. The church dates back to the fourth or fifth century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal Palace with the Saint Silvester Chapel, and the monastery with its
cosmatesque
cloister is built in a silent and green part of Rome, between the
Colosseum
and
San Giovanni in Laterano
, in an out-of-time setting.
The
Santi Quattro Coronati
[
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"Santi Quattro Coronati" means the Four Holy Crowned Ones [i.e. martyrs], and refers to the fact that the saints' names are not known, and therefore referred to with their number, and that they were martyrs, since the crown, together to the branches of palm, is an ancient symbol of martyrdom. According to the
Passion of St. Sebastian
, the four saints were soldiers who refused to sacrifice to
Aesculapius
, and therefore were killed by order of Emperor
Diocletian
(r. 284?305). The bodies of the martyrs were buried in the cemetery of
Santi Marcellino e Pietro
, on the fourth mile of
via Labicana
, by
Pope Miltiades
and St
Sebastian
(whose skull is preserved in the church). Miltiades decided that the martyrs should be venerated with the names of Claudius, Nicostratus, Simpronianus and Castorius; these names ? together to a fifth, Simplicius ? were those of five
Pannonian
martyr stonemasons.
These martyrs were later identified with the four martyrs from
Albano
; Secundus (or Severus); Severianus; Carpoforus (Carpophorus); and Victorinus (Vittorinus). The bodies of the martyrs are kept in four ancient sarcophagi in the crypt. According to a stone dated 1123, the head of one of the four martyrs is buried in
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
.
History
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Tradition holds the first church on the site was begun by
Pope Miltiades
, in the 4th century on the north side of the
Coelian Hill
. One of the first
churches of Rome
, it bore the
Titulus Aemilianae
from the name of the foundress, who probably owned the elaborate Roman villa, the structure of which is evident under the church. The church was completed by the end of the 6th century, and because of its proximity to the medieval papal residence of the
Lateran Palace
, it became prominent in its day. The first renovations occurred under
Pope Leo IV
(847?855), who built the crypt under the nave, added to side aisles, enclosed the courtyard before the facade, and built the belltower and the chapels of Saints Barbara and Nicholas. The new remarkable basilica,
Carolingian architecture
in style, was 95 m long and 50 m wide.
This church, however, was burned to the ground by
Robert Guiscard
's troops during the
Norman
Sack of Rome (1084)
. Instead of rebuilding the original basilica to scale,
Pope Paschal II
built a smaller basilica with two courtyards, one in front of the other; the first corresponding to the original 9th century courtyard, while the second was sited over the initial part of the nave. The two aisles were included in the Cardinal Palace (right) and in the
Benedictine
monastery founded by Paschal himself (left). The original apse of the basilica, however, was preserved, and seems oversized for the new church, whose nave was divided into three parts by means of columns. The new church was consecrated on 20 January 1116. In 1338 it was a possession of the
Sassovivo Abbey
.
In the 13th century a
Cosmatesque
cloister was added. The Cardinal Palace was enlarged by cardinal
Stefano Conti
, a nephew of
Pope Innocent III
. Cardinal Conti also transformed the palace into a fortress, to shelter Popes in the Lateran during the conflict with the
Hohenstaufen
emperors. In 1247, the chapel of St Sylvester, on the ground floor of the fortress, was consecrated; it contains frescoes depicting the stories of
Pope Silvester I
and Emperor
Constantine I
, among which the un-historical baptism of the emperor, as well as a depiction of the forged
Donation of Constantine
. Painted in the backdrop of political struggles between
Pope Innocent IV
and the freshly excommunicated holy Roman emperor
Frederick II
, the frescoes are meant to underscore the desired sovereignty of the Church (Pope Silvester) over the Empire (Constantine).
When the Popes moved to Avignon (14th century), the Cardinal Palace fell into ruin. Thus, upon the return of the Popes to Rome with
Pope Martin V
, a restoration was necessary. However, when the Papal residence moved from the Lateran to the
Vatican
palace, this basilica lost importance. In 1564,
Pope Pius IV
entrusted the basilica and the surrounding buildings to the
Augustinians
, who still serve it.
The interest in the history of this complex renewed in 1913, thanks to the work of the Fine Arts Superintendent
Antonio Munoz
. Once the building became an orphanage, the Augustinian nuns put a revolving drum by its entrance which was used as a deposit "box" for unwanted babies.
Interior decoration
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The apse contains the frescoes (1630) by
Giovanni da San Giovanni
of the four patron martyr saints, Severo, Severiano, Carpoforo e Vittorino. The altarpiece on the left nave of
S.Sebastiano curato da Lucina e Irene
was painted by
Giovanni Baglione
. The second courtyard holds the entrance to the
Oratorio di San Silvestro
, with frescoes of medieval origin, as well as others by
Raffaellino da Reggio
.
Titular see
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Santi Quattro Coronati belongs to the
titular churches
of Rome from at least the end of 6th century. The title is now held by Cardinal
Roger Mahony
, Archbishop emeritus of
Los Angeles
. Among those once assigned the title are:
Pope Leo IV
(847), King
Henry of Portugal
, who, in 1580, donated the magnificent wooden ceiling, and
Pope Benedict XV
(1914). The full list is known only from the pontificate of
Pope Benedict XII
(1334?1342):
[1]
[2]
[3]
Discovered frescoes
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]
In 2002 art historian Andreina Draghi discovered an amazing display of frescoes, dating back to 13th century, while restoring the Gothic Hall of the monastery. Most of the scenes were well preserved under a thick layer of plaster, and represented the Twelve Months, the Liberal Arts, the Four Seasons and the Zodiac. The image of
King Solomon
, a pious and a judge, painted on the northern wall led scholars to argue the room was meant to be a Hall of Justice. Plaster was possibly laid after 1348
Black Death
for hygienical reasons, or perhaps in the 15th century, when the
Camaldolese
left the monastery.
References
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]
- ^
Sources for the list: H.W. Klewitz,
Reformpapsttum und Kardinalskolleg
, Darmstadt 1957, p. 22 note 40, p. 75 and p. 130 no. 4 (11?12th centuries); S. Miranda,
Titulus SS. IV Coronati
(from 14th century until now). The names from 595 until 993 are based on examination of the documents of the Roman councils in: Giandomenico Mansi,
Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio
, except Leo (844-847, pope Leo IV 847-855), and Stefano (882-885, pope Stephen V 885-891) who are mentioned as cardinals of this title in their biographical entries in The Catholic Encyclopedia
[1]
[2]
- ^
The fourteenth-century cardinal priests are listed by Conradus Eubel,
Hierarchia catholica medii aevi
I, editio altera (Monasterii 1913), p. 41.
- ^
David M. Cheyney,
Catholic-Hierarchy:
Santi Quattro Coronati
.
Retrieved: 2016-03-15.
- ^
Mansi's text in fact does
not
name Fortunato:
Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio
Tomus X (Florence/Venice: Zatta 1764, pp. 175?178.
- ^
Johannes Dominicus Mansi (ed.),
Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio
Tomus 14 (Venice: Antonio Zatta 1769), p. 1021:
Leo presbyter tituli SS. IV Coronatorum.
The title
Cardinal
does not appear.
- ^
The text, in fact, calls him
Theophilacto presbitero tituli sanctorum quattuor coronatorum
; there is no mention of the title
Cardinal
:
Monumenta Germaniae Historica
,
2 Leges. 4 Constitutiones 01. Constitutiones Acta Publica AD 911?1197
(Hannover: Hahn, 1893), p. 533. In Liutprand of Cremona's
De rebus gestis Ottonis Magni Imperatoris
(in: J.-P. Migne
Patrologiae Latinae
Volume 136, p. 903) only the Archpriest and the Archdeacon are called
Cardinalis
, and the name of the priest
tituli sanctorum quattuor coronatorum
has dropped out of the text.
- ^
Johannes Dominicus Mansi (ed.),
Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio
Tomus 19 (Venice: Antonio Zatta 1774), p. 172:
Joannes presbyter et cardinalis Ss. quattuor coronatorum consensi.
(30 January 993).
- ^
Rudolf Huls,
Kardinale, Klerus und Kirchen Roms, 1049?1130
(Tubingen: Max Niemeyer 1977), p. 202.
- ^
Huls, p. 203.
Further reading
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- Andreina Draghi,
Gli affreschi dell'Aula gotica del Monastero dei Santi Quattro Coronati: una storia ritrovata
(Milano: Skira 2006).
- Maria Giulia Barberini,
I Santi Quattro Coronati a Roma
(Roma: Fratelli Palombi, 1989).
- Bruno Maria Apollonj Ghetti,
I Ss. Quattro Coronati
(Roma : Marietti, 1964) [Le chiese di Roma illustrate, 81].
- J. de Cederna,
La Chiesa e il monastero dei Ss. Quattro Coronati
(Roma 1950).
- S Russell Forbes,
Church of the Santi Quattro Coronati
(No publisher: no place, 1914).
External links
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Media related to
Santi Quattro Coronati
at Wikimedia Commons
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