The
Basilica of Sts. Vitalis, Valeris, Gervase and Protase is a
titularTitular means existing in title only. It can also refer to:*Titular character - title character of a fictional work*Titular ruler*Titular head...
minor basilica
church inThere are more than 900 Churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.-Ancient Churches:...
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. The Roman Catholic church is commonly named Basilica di San Vitale. The Cardinal Priest of the
Titulus S. Vitalis is
Adam Cardinal MaidaAdam Joseph Maida is an American archbishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Superior of the Cayman Islands and a former Archbishop of Detroit.-Early life:...
.
History
The basilica was built in
400Year 400 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.-Western Roman Empire:* Italy is first invaded by Alaric ....
, and consecrated by
Pope Innocent IPope Saint Innocent I was pope from 401 to March 12, 417.He was, according to his biographer in the Liber Pontificalis, the son of a man called Innocens of Albano; but according to his contemporary Jerome, his father was Pope Anastasius I , whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy...
in 401/402. The dedication to St.
VitalisSaint Vitalis of Milan, known as San Vitale in Italian and Saint Vital in French, was an early Christian martyr.-Biography:Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier. He was married to Saint Valeria, and they were the parents of the perhaps legendary Saints Gervasius and Protasius...
and his family (Saint Valeria, his wife, and Sts.
Gervasius and ProtasiusSaints Gervasius and Protasius are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century....
, their sons) is dated to
412-Western Roman Empire:* The Visigoths move into the south of Gaul, led by Alaric's brother-in-law Ataulf.* Ataulf marries Galla Placidia, sister of the Emperor Honorius.* The usurper Jovinus takes control of Gaul.-Eastern Roman Empire:...
. This church is recorded as
Titulus Vestinae in the acts of the 499 synod of
Pope SymmachusPope Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514.He was born on Sardinia, the son of Fortunatus. He was baptized in Rome, where he became archdeacon of the Church under Pope Anastasius II....
, and three presbyters are listed.
San Vitale was restored several times, the most important being the rebuilding by
Pope Sixtus IVPope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. He founded the Sistine Chapel where the team of artists he brought together and introduced the Early Renaissance to Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age.-Biography:Francesco was born to a modest...
before the Jubilee of 1475, and then in 1598, 1938 and 1960. The church is currently located several metres under the street (
via NazionaleVia Nazionale is a street in Rome from Piazza della Repubblica leading towards Piazza Venezia.Already begun as via Pia, named in honour of Pius IX who had wanted to connect Stazione Termini to the city centre, the street was completed at the end of the 19th century through the ambition of several...
) level.
Exterior
The
porticoA portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
is the most ancient part of the church, possibly dating back to the 5th century. It was altered at the end of the 16th century. The inscription on the portico, with the arms of Pope Sixtus IV, dates from this time.
Pope Pius IXPope Blessed Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest reigning Pope in Church history, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed Papal infallibility...
built the staircase to the 5th century portico in 1859.
Interior
The church is on a single nave, with walls frescoed with scenes of martyrdom, among which a
Martyrdom of St Ignatius of Antioch, in which a ruined
ColosseumThe Colosseum or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
is depicted.
The apsis, original of the 5th century, is decorated with a fresco by
Andrea CommodiAndrea Commodi was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period. Born in Florence, but mostly active in Rome, he was a pupil of the painter Cigoli. He painted frescoes in the sacristy of San Carlo ai Catinari and a Fall of the Angels now in the Accademia gallery in Florence...
, the
The Ascent to Calvary.
Cardinal Priest of the Basilica di San Vitale
Among the previous titulars, Gennaro Cesio, appointed in
494-Asia:*Under Emperor Xiaowen the capital of Northern Wei, a state in China, is moved from Datong to Luoyang.-By topic:*Pope Gelasius I delineates the relationship between church and state.*Gelasius canonizes Saint George....
by
Pope Gelasius IPope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last pope of African origin in the Roman Catholic Church, Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Gelasius had been closely employed by...
, and St.
John FisherSaint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic Bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Anglican calendar of saints...
, martyred in 1535 by Henry VIII. The current Cardinal Priest of the
Titulus S. Vitalis is
Adam Cardinal MaidaAdam Joseph Maida is an American archbishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Superior of the Cayman Islands and a former Archbishop of Detroit.-Early life:...
.
Free bread was distributed to the poor by the church according to the will of a Roman nobleman, Francesco Silla.
External links