Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
Campanile

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere ( Latin: Sanctae Ceciliae trans Tiberim ) is a church in Rome consecrated to Saint Cecilia . It belongs to the Basilicae minores and was built west of the Tiber in Trastevere .

history

According to the martyr's report about St. Caecilia, the passio sanctae Caeciliae virginis et martyris, probably written at the end of the 5th century , the Roman patrician Cecilia suffered a martyr's death at the site of the church building . On her deathbed, she convinced Pope Urban to consecrate her home as a church. Excavations inside the church at the end of the 19th century brought the foundations of an atrium house from the 2nd century BC. BC, which was built over by an imperial insula , probably built in the 2nd century and rebuilt in the 3rd century , a block of flats with rental apartments and shops, including an apse hall and fountain.

A first church could have been built between 379 and 464, as can be deduced from a fragmented inscription. It belonged to an epitaph , was used again in the medieval floor of the church and mentions the early Christian church of sancta Caecilia for the first time. In the Roman synodal acts of 499, a presbyter Boniface of the titulus Caeciliae and a presbyter Marcianus of the titulus sanctae Caeciliae , who must have looked after the titular church of St. Caecilia. According to the 640 created the second edition of the Liber Pontificalis committed Pope Vigilius on 22 November 545, the titular feast of the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, he called on the envoys of the emperor I. Justinian was jailed. The Martyrologium Hieronymianum , which was probably compiled in the early 7th century, names various feast days on which the martyr Caecilia was commemorated, including November 22nd. There is no further knowledge about this church.

To the north of the church, in the former apse hall at the beginning of the 5th century, a square baptistery with a hexagonal baptistery on the outside and a round baptismal font on the inside, of which foundations and wall paintings from the 6th to 9th centuries were found. This baptistery was built over with a reliquary chapel (today sacristy ) at the beginning of the 16th century ; in 1723 a new reliquary chapel in baroque form was built elsewhere.

9th century basilica and its further development

In the year 820, in the Catacombs of Calixtus on the Via Appia outside Rome, the presumed bones of the saints, which had long been considered lost, were found. Pope Paschalis then had a new three-aisled basilica built . It faced west and had a ring crypt with a confessio , into which the bones of the saints were transferred . The central nave and side aisles were separated by twelve columns each with Ionic bases and Corinthian capitals that carried arcades . There was an arched window above each arcade; the central nave had an open roof. The basilica included a narthex , portico and atrium . At the same time the adjoining monastery was founded in honor of Saints Cäcilia and Agatha .

In the period that followed, the church was redesigned several times. The slightly inclined campanile was built around 1125. On the portico, four Ionic columns and two corner pillars carry an architrave with a mosaic band from the 12th century: the round picture with the cross and alpha and omega in the middle is framed by portrait medallions of Saints Cäcilia, Agatha, Tiburtius , Urban and Lucius . In the 13th century the church was decorated with frescoes by Pietro Cavallini .

The atrium was replaced by a forecourt with a garden; In place of the old cleaning fountain in the middle of the atrium, a fountain basin was created in 1929 and a large fountain bowl in the form of a Greek handle vase ( Cantharus ) from the 2nd century was placed in it.

In 1741, as part of the baroque transformation of the church, the west facade was built according to plans by Ferdinando Fuga . Meanwhile, the interior has been shaped by a historicist renovation of the 19th century. The restoration measures of the 16th to 20th centuries only slightly affected the structure of the building, but conceal the building forms of the 9th century so much that the original impression of space and individual forms is lost.

  • Architrave of the portico from the 12th century.

  • patio

  • Entrance to the basilica

Furnishing

Interior of the church
Apse mosaic

The mosaics in the apse calotte and on the apse arch were donated by Pope Paschalis around 820. In the apse Christ is depicted as Pantocrator . Against a dark blue background, Christ hovers over a colorful carpet of clouds, above him the hand of God, the Father with a laurel wreath. Christ is surrounded on the left by Paul (with book), Cäcilia (with diadem ) and the founder pope Paschalis with the square nimbus of someone who is still alive (with church model) and on the right by Simon Petrus (with keys), Valerianus (with a martyr's crown on the concealed Hands) and a female saint (also with a martyr's crown), probably Agatha as the patron saint of the monastery founded by Paschalis next to the basilica. The position of the titular saint between Paul and Paschalis is justified by the fact that here Cäcilia led the founder pope with the church model to Christ and placed her right hand on his shoulder. In the past it was also believed that Cäcilia was shown next to her husband Valerianus at the end of the right row. At the edge of the mosaic there is a fruit-bearing palm tree, on the left side above the donor pope with a phoenix (as a symbol of the resurrection ). The monogram of the donor can be seen on the top of the beam . In the lower register, six lambs, symbolizing the apostles , move from the gem-adorned cities of Jerusalem (left) and Bethlehem (right) to the Lamb of God in the middle. The dedication inscription runs under the lambs frieze. Only remains of the mosaic on the apse arch (around 820) are preserved; the subject is known from contemporary images: the Mother of God with child, enthroned between two angels , accepts the homage from five holy virgins each (with crown and nimbus). In the spandrels below the twenty-four elders were depicted with their crowns.

The altar ciborium above the main altar was created by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1293. The inscription HOC OPVS FECIT ARNVLFVS was found on a small pillar . The four columns made of black and white marble, which support the superstructure crowned with pinnacles , originate from the ciborium of the basilica of the 9th century. On the four corner plinths are the artistically crafted statues of the titular Saint Cecilia (with martyr's crown), her husband Valerianus (in military clothing), Tiburtius (on horseback) and Pope Urban (in regalia). In the eight spandrels there are two prophets (with ribbon), the four evangelists (with their symbols) and two wise virgins (with burning torches). This work by di Cambio is characterized by the roughly equivalent treatment of sculptural and architectural elements. Next to the ciborium is an Easter candlestick , which cosmatic artists worked around 1250.

In the confessio under the altar is the reclining figure of St. Cecilia made of white marble by Stefano Maderno from 1599/1600. The body in antique robes and with a veiled face is shown in the pose in which it is said to have been found when the coffin was opened in 1599. Even after it was erected, the statue was one of the most famous of its time. The simple and natural way of representation by Maderno is considered to have overcome mannerism and to announce classical trends.

The central ceiling fresco of the nave was created by Sebastiano Conca around 1725; it shows the apotheosis of St. Cecilia. At the end of the north aisle is the tomb of Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro ; it was designed by Enrico Quattrini.

  • Ciborium by Arnofo di Cambio

  • Sculpture of St. Cäcilia by Stefano Maderno

  • Ceiling fresco by Sebastiano Conca in the central nave

Fresco in the nuns choir

Last Judgment by Pietro Cavallini (detail)

On the inner entrance wall of the basilica, fragments of an art-historically significant fresco by Pietro Cavallini from 1293 have been preserved. The lower part of the monumental wall painting (approx. 13 m high) depicting the Last Judgment was destroyed by the installation of a nun's choir in 1527 . In the middle of the original three registers, Christ is shown as judge of the world ; adorned with the cross nimbus , he sits on the ruler's throne and shows his wounds. His image is particularly emphasized by a mandorla held by two seraphim (with six wings), two cherubim (with four wings) and two ordinary angels on either side. At his side are the Blessed Mother Mary and John the Baptist as intercessors; then the twelve apostles sit on throne chairs on either side , most of them with the attribute of their martyrdom in their hands. It is noteworthy that Pietro Cavallini offers a perspective view for the first time in Western painting and makes the different characters of the apostles clear in their faces.

The nuns' choir is part of the enclosure of the Benedictine nuns in the monastery on the left side of the basilica; therefore access is only possible at certain times. Also part of the cloister is the cloister , built around 1100 , in which Roman marble work from the 12th and 13th centuries can be seen.

  • Fresco of the Last Judgment by Pietro Cavallini in the nuns choir, detail

Excavations and new crypt

In the left aisle there is access to the excavations and the new crypt. During excavations under the church, the walls of several Roman houses were found, which were probably combined into one building in the 4th century, from which the early Christian ecclesia domestica emerged. The underground rooms accessible (with admission ticket) include: a. around a Roman tannery or a storage cellar for grain, a room with five sarcophagi , an atrium with the relief of a Minerva and the ancient bath ( balneum ), according to tradition, the place of the martyrdom of St. Cecilia.

The new crypt was expanded by GB Giovenale around 1900 as a large rectangular hall in historicizing forms, with sail vaults over twelve free-standing and eighteen marble columns leaning against the walls. On the narrow sides are the chapels of St. Cecilia and St. Agnes , which are decorated with mosaics in the Beuron style . At the front wall, the previously walled up confessio was opened so that the urns of the martyrs can be seen.

  • Excavations: Roman floor of the 2nd century

  • 4th century tannery or storage cellar

  • Minerva in the 4th century Roman house

  • new crypt

Station Church

The basilica is the station church on the Wednesday of the second week of fasting . Cardinal priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere has been Gualtiero Bassetti since 2014 (as of November 2019).

literature

  • Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum. Herder, Freiburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-451-31105-5 , p. 230-235 .
  • Hugo Brandenburg : The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2200-4 , pp. 180-184 .
  • Christoph Höcker: Rome . 2nd Edition. Reclam's city guide. Reclam, Stuttgart. 2012, ISBN 978-3-15-018980-1 , pp. 211-212 .
  • Ottavio Traverso: The Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Rome . Marconi, Genoa 2007.
  • Heinz-Joachim Fischer : Rome - two and a half millennia of history, art and culture of the Eternal City. DuMont, DuMont 2001, ISBN 3-7701-5607-2 , pp. 341-344 .
  • Walther Buchowiecki , Brigitte Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. The Roman sacred building in history and art from early Christian times to the present. tape 4 . Hollinek, Vienna 1997, p. 279-346 .
  • Anton Henze u. a .: Art guide Rome . Reclam, Stuttgart 1994, p. 160-162 .

Web links

Commons : Santa Cecilia in Trastevere  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Most of the manuscripts state that Caecilia consecrated her house to church herself; on the spot see Sherry L. Reames: A Recent Discovery Concerning the Sources of Chaucer's "Second Nun's Tale". In: Modern Philology. Volume 87, No. 4, 1990, pp. 337-361, here pp. 343-345.
  2. ↑ For the church, building finds and excavations, see Caroline Goodson: Material Memory: Rebuilding the Basilica of S. Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome. In: Early Medieval Europe. Volume 15.1, 2007, pp. 20-52 ( online ).
  3. ^ Giovanni Battista de Rossi : Inscriptiones christianae Urbis Romae septimo saeculo antiquiores. Volume 1. Rome 1861, p. 359 f. No. 816 ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ Jörg Rüpke , Anne Glock: Fasti sacerdotum. Prosopography of the urban Roman priesthoods of Roman, Greek, Oriental and Judeo-Christian cults up to AD 499. Volume 2. Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2005, p. 825 sv Bonifatius (2) ; P. 1135 sv Marcianus (3) .
  5. ^ Louis Duchesne : Le Liber pontificalis. Texts, introduction and commentary. Volume 1. Thorin, Paris 1886, p. 297. 300 Note 12, which indicates that according to Prokop , Gothenkrieg 3,15, Vigilius was a free man in Sicily at the beginning of 546 and from there to Byzantium gifted ( digitized ); on the dating of the 2nd edition, which is based, among other things, on the weak depiction of the Vita des Vigilius, see Raymond Davis: The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis). The Ancient Biographies of the First Ninety Roman Bishops to AD 715 ( Translated Texts for Historians . Volume 6). Revised, second edition. Liverpool University Press, Liverpool 2000, ISBN 0-85323-545-7 , pp. Xlvii – xlviii, English translation of the Vita des Vigilius ibid pp. 57-61.
  6. ^ Hugo Brandenburg: The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century , Regensburg 2013, p. 180f.
  7. ↑ Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum . Freiburg 2016, p. 230, with a reconstructed floor plan in Fig. 29.1
  8. ^ Ottavio Traverso: The Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Rome . Genoa 2007, pp. 7 and 14.
  9. ↑ Marco Bussagli (ed.): Rome - The golden centuries . HF Ullmann, Potsdam 2009, pp. 177-178.
  10. ↑ Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum . Freiburg 2016, p. 233.
  11. ↑ Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum . Freiburg 2016, p. 232 with the text of the inscription and translation on p. 235.
  12. ↑ Walther Buchowiecki / Brigitte Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , Volume 4, Vienna 1997, p. 318ff.
  13. ^ Anton Henze: Art Guide Rome . Reclam, Stuttgart 1994, p. 162.
  14. ↑ Walther Buchowiecki / Brigitte Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , Volume 4, Vienna 1997, p. 317f.
  15. ^ Ottavio Traverso: The Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Rome . Genoa 2007, pp. 36-41.
  16. ^ Ottavio Traverso: The Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Rome . Genoa 2007, pp. 42-47
  17. ↑ The complete Roman missal - Latin and German with general and special introductions following the missal by Anselm Schott OSB , Benediktiner der Erzabtei Beuron (ed.), Herder, 1952, p. 992

Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 15.2 "  N , 12 ° 28 ′ 33.1"  E