Santi Quattro Coronati
Encyclopedia
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy. The church dates back to the 4th (or 5th) 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 St. Silvester chapel, and the Monastery with its cosmatesque cloister is built in a silent and green part of Rome, between the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
and San Giovanni in Laterano, in an out-of-time setting.
The Santi Quattro Coronati
"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 DiocletianDiocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
(284-305). The bodies of the martyrs were buried in the cemetery of Santi Marcellino e Pietro
Santi Marcellino e Pietro
Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano is a Roman catholic parish and titular church in Rome on the Via Merulana. It is dedicated to Saints Marcellinus and Peter, 4th century Roman martyrs, whose relics were brought here in 1256.-History:...
, on the fourth mile of via Labicana
Via Labicana
The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have superseded the Via Latina as a route to the southeast,...
, by Pope Miltiades
Pope Miltiades
Pope Saint Miltiades, also called Melchiades , was pope from 2 July 311 to 10 January 314.- Origins :He appears to have been a Berber African by birth, but of his personal history nothing is known.- Pontificate :...
and St Sebastian
Sebastian
Saint Sebastian was a Christian saint and martyr, who is said to have been killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post and shot with arrows...
(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 Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
n martyr stonemasons. These martyrs were later identified with the four martyrs from Albano
Albano Laziale
Albano Laziale is a comune in the province of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Latium, central Italy. It is also a suburb of Rome, which is 25 km distant. It is bounded by other communes of Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa, Ariccia and Ardea. Located in the Castelli Romani area of Lazio...
, 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 lapid dated 1123, the head of one of the four martyrs is buried in Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa.- History :The church was built in the 8th century during the Byzantine Papacy over the remains of the Templum Herculis Pompeiani in the Forum Boarium and of the Statio annonae, one...
.
History
Tradition holds the first church was begun by Pope Miltiades, in the 4th century on the north side of the Coelian Hill. One of the first churches of RomeChurches of Rome
There are more than 900 churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.The first churches of Rome originated in places where Christians met. They were divided into three categories:...
, it bore the Titulus Aemilianae from the name of the foundress, who probably owned the elaborate Roman villa, whose structure is evident under the church. The church was completed the end of the 6th century, and because of its proximity to the medieval papal residence of the Lateran Palace
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace , formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran , is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main Papal residence....
, it became prominent in its day. The first renovations occurred under Pope Leo IV
Pope Leo IV
Pope Saint Leo IV was pope from 10 April 847 to 17 July 855.A Roman by birth, he was unanimously chosen to succeed Sergius II. When he was elected, on 10 April 847, he was cardinal of Santi Quattro Coronati, and had been subdeacon of Gregory IV and archpriest under his predecessor...
(847-855), who built the crypt under the nave, added to side aisles, enclosed the coutyard before the facade, and built the belltower and the chapels of St. Barbara and St. Nicholas. The new remarkable basilica, Carolingian in style, was 95 m long and 50 m wide.
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
's troops during the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
Sack of Rome (1084)
Sack of Rome (1084)
The Sack of Rome of May 1084 was a Norman sack, the result of the pope's call for aid from the duke of Apulia, Robert Guiscard.Pope Gregory VII was besieged in the Castel Sant'Angelo by the Emperor Henry IV in June 1083. He held out and called for aid from the Guiscard, who was then fighting the...
. Instead of rebuilding the original basilica to scale, Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
built a smaller basilica with a 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
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
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
Sassovivo Abbey
The Abbey of Sassovivo is a Benedictine monastery in Umbria in central Italy. Administratively, it is a frazione of the comune of Foligno.-Geography:The abbey lies in an ancient oak wood, 6 km from Foligno...
.
In the 13th century a Cosmatesque
Cosmatesque
Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also used to decorate church walls, pulpits, and bishop's thrones...
cloister was added. The Cardinal Palace was enlarged by cardinal Stefano Conti
Stefano Conti
Stefano Conti was an Italian 18th century merchant from Lucca, known for his expansive collection and patronage of contemporary Italian artists. He began his collection at age 50 in 1705, and utilized Alessandro Marchesini as his agent in Venice....
, a nephew of Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
. Cardinal Conti also transformed the palace into a fortress, to shelter Popes in the Lateran during the conflict with the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
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
Pope Silvester I
Pope Sylvester I was pope from 31 January 314 to 31 December 335, succeeding Pope Miltiades.He filled the See of Rome at a very important era in the history of the Catholic Church, but very little is known of him....
and Emperor Constantine I, among which the un-historical baptism of the emperor. Painted in the backdrop of political struggles between Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
and the freshly excommunicated holy Roman emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, the frescoes are meant 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
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
, a restoration was necessary. However, when the Papal residence moved from the Lateran to the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
palace, this basilica lost importance. In 1564, Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV , born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is notable for presiding over the culmination of the Council of Trent.-Biography:...
entrusted the basilica and the surrounding buildings to the Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
, 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 Muñoz
Antonio Muñoz
Antonio Muñoz may refer to:*Antonio Munoz *Antonio Muñoz *Antonio Muñoz Gómez, footballer born 1968*Toni Muñoz, footballer born 1982*Antonio Muñoz Molina, writer...
. 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
The apse contains the frescoes (1630) by Giovanni da San GiovanniGiovanni da San Giovanni
Giovanni da San Giovanni , also known as Giovanni Mannozzi, was an Italian painter of the early Baroque period.-Biography:...
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
Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious involvement with the artist Caravaggio and his writings concerning the other Roman artists of his time.-Early life:A pupil of Francesco Morelli, he worked mainly...
. 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
Raffaellino da Reggio
Raffaellino da Reggio was an Italian painter from Emilia, active in a Mannerist style mainly in Rome.Also variously named Raffaellino Motta or Rafaellino da Reggio or a variety of combinations, he was born at Codemondo near Reggio Emilia. Initially trained under the painter Lelio Orsi...
.
Titulus
Santi Quattro Coronati belongs to the titular churches of Rome from at least the end of 6th century. The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus Ss. Quattuor Coronatorum is Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los AngelesRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the...
. Among the previous titulars are: Pope Leo IV
Pope Leo IV
Pope Saint Leo IV was pope from 10 April 847 to 17 July 855.A Roman by birth, he was unanimously chosen to succeed Sergius II. When he was elected, on 10 April 847, he was cardinal of Santi Quattro Coronati, and had been subdeacon of Gregory IV and archpriest under his predecessor...
(847), King Henry of Portugal, who, in 1580, donated the magnificent wooden ceiling, and Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
(1914). The full list is known only from the pontificate of Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
(1073–85):
- Fortunato (595)
- Teofano (745)
- Constantino (761)
- LeoPope Leo IVPope Saint Leo IV was pope from 10 April 847 to 17 July 855.A Roman by birth, he was unanimously chosen to succeed Sergius II. When he was elected, on 10 April 847, he was cardinal of Santi Quattro Coronati, and had been subdeacon of Gregory IV and archpriest under his predecessor...
(844-847) - Leo (853)
- Leonino (869)
- StefanoPope Stephen VPope Stephen V was pope from 885 to 891. He succeeded Pope Adrian III, and was in turn succeeded by Pope Formosus. In his dealings with Constantinople in the matter of Photius, as also in his relations with the young Slavonic church, he pursued the policy of Pope Nicholas I.His father, Hadrian, who...
(882-885) - Teofilatto (963-964)
- Giovanni (993)
- Hermann of Brescia (ca.1080-1098)
- Agostino (1100-after 1103)
- Benedetto of Terra Maggiore (obedience of Anacletus II, 1135-1137/38)
- Guillaume de Court, O.Cist. (1338–1350)
- Pierre Itier (1361–1364)
- Jean de Dormans (1368–1373)
- Hughes de Montelais (1375–1378, obedience of Avignon 1378-1379)
- Demetrius (1378–1387)
- Jean de Neufchatel (obedience of Avignon 1383-1392)
- Francesco UguccioneFrancesco UguccioneFrancesco Uguccione was the Archbishop of Bordeaux from 1384 until his death. He was a lawyer from Urbino and a staunch supporter of the King of England in the Hundred Years' War....
(1405–1412) - Louis de LuxembourgLouis de LuxembourgLouis de Luxembourg may refer to:* Louis II de Luxembourg , Archbishop of Rouen and Bishop of Ely* Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol * Louis de Luxembourg , third son of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg...
(1440–1442) - Alfonso Borja (1444–1455)
- Luis Juan del Milà y Borja (1456–1508)
- Lorenzo PucciLorenzo PucciLorenzo Pucci was an Italian cardinal and bishop from the Florentine Pucci family. His brother Roberto Pucci and his nephew Antonio Pucci also became cardinals.-Biography:Pucci was born in Florence....
(1513–1524) - Antonio PucciAntonio Pucci (cardinal)Antonio Pucci was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.Antonio Pucci emanated from the Florentine noble family of Pucci. He was a nephew of Cardinals Roberto Pucci and Lorenzo Pucci....
(1531–1541) - Roberto PucciRoberto PucciRoberto Pucci was an Italian cardinal from the Florentine noble family of the Pucci.-Life:One of the Medici's keenest supporters, he nevertheless advised Pope Clement VII against starting the siege of Florence in 1529...
(1544–1547) - Henrique de Portugal (1547–1580)
- Giovan Antonio Facchinetti (1584–1591)
- Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti de Nuce (1592–1602)
- Giovanni Garzia Millini (1608–1627)
- Girolamo Vidoni (1627–1632)
- Francesco Boncompagni (1634–1641)
- Cesare FacchinettiCesare FacchinettiCesare Facchinetti was an Italian Catholic Cardinal.Facchinetti was born 17 September 1608 in Bologna. He was the son of Ludovico Facchinetti and Violante da Correggio...
(1643–1671) - Francesco Albizzi (1671–1680)
- Sebastiano Antonio TanaraSebastiano Antonio TanaraSebastiano Antonio Tanara was an Italian cardinal.He studied law at the university of Bologna. He was internuncio in Flanders and as, such, he was sent with secret mission to king James II of England, who had converted to Catholicism...
(1696–1715) - Giovanni Patrizi (1716–1727)
- Alessandro Aldobrandini (1731–1734)
- Joaquín Fernández Portocarrero (1743–1747)
- Giovanni Battista Mesmer (1747–1749)
- Carlo Francesco Durini (1754–1769)
- Christoph Anton von Migazzi von Waal und Sonnenthurn (1775–1803)
- Lodovico Micara, O.F.M.Cap. (1826–1837)
- Giovanni Soglia Ceroni (1839–1856)
- Antonino Saverio De Luca (1863–1878)
- Americo Ferreira dos Santos Silva (1880–1899)
- Pietro RespighiPietro RespighiPietro Respighi S.T.D. JUD was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.He was born in Bologna and received the sacrament of confirmation in November 1850...
(1899–1913) - Giacomo della ChiesaPope Benedict XVPope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
(1914) - Victoriano Guisasola Menéndez (1914–1920)
- Karl Joseph SchulteKarl Joseph SchulteKarl Joseph Schulte , was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1920 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1921.-Biography:...
(1921–1941) - Norman Thomas Gilroy (1946–1977)
- Julijans VaivodsJulijans VaivodsJulijans Vaivods was the Apostolic Administrator of Riga and of Liepāja from 10 November 1964 to his death, and Cardinal Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati from 1983 to his death...
(1983–1990) - Roger Michael Mahony (1991-incumbent)
Discovered frescoes
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 DeathBlack Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
for hygienical reasons, or perhaps in the 15th century, when the Camaldolese left the monastery.
External links
- www.santiquattrocoronati.org, Ss. Quattro Coronati Monastery official website.
- Four Crowned Martyrs - Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Patron Saints: Claudius
- Images