All Topics  
Santo Stefano Rotondo

 
Santo Stefano Rotondo

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Santo Stefano Rotondo
 
 
  Topics Santo Stefano Rotondo Topic Home

The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill () is an ancient basilica
Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
 in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is the National church in Rome
National churches in Rome

Charitable institutions attached to churches in Rome were founded right through the medieval period and included hospitals, hostels and others providing assistance to pilgrims to Rome from a certain "nation", which thus became these nations' national church es in Rome....
 of Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
  dedicated to Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen , known as the Protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
 and Saint Stephen of Hungary. The minor basilica is also the rectory church of the Pontifical Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum
Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum

The Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum or simply Collegium Germanicum is a German language seminary for Roman Catholic priests in Rome, founded in 1552....
.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Stephani in Coelio Monte is Friedrich Cardinal Wetter
Friedrich Cardinal Wetter

Friedrich Wetter is a German Cardinal of the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Germany. His resignation as Metropolitan bishop of Munich and Freising was accepted on Friday 2 February 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, who had held that post before becoming Pope John Paul II's Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of t...
.


History
The edifice was consecrated by Pope Simplicius
Pope Simplicius

Pope Saint Simplicius was pope from 468 to March 10, 483.He was born in Tivoli, Italy, the son of a citizen named Castinus. Most of what is known of him is derived from the Liber Pontificalis....
 between 468 and 483.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Santo Stefano Rotondo'
Start a new discussion about 'Santo Stefano Rotondo'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill () is an ancient basilica
Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
 in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is the National church in Rome
National churches in Rome

Charitable institutions attached to churches in Rome were founded right through the medieval period and included hospitals, hostels and others providing assistance to pilgrims to Rome from a certain "nation", which thus became these nations' national church es in Rome....
 of Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
  dedicated to Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen , known as the Protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
 and Saint Stephen of Hungary. The minor basilica is also the rectory church of the Pontifical Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum
Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum

The Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum or simply Collegium Germanicum is a German language seminary for Roman Catholic priests in Rome, founded in 1552....
.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Stephani in Coelio Monte is Friedrich Cardinal Wetter
Friedrich Cardinal Wetter

Friedrich Wetter is a German Cardinal of the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Germany. His resignation as Metropolitan bishop of Munich and Freising was accepted on Friday 2 February 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, who had held that post before becoming Pope John Paul II's Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of t...
.

Celio Santo Stefano Rotondo 1792st

History


The edifice was consecrated by Pope Simplicius
Pope Simplicius

Pope Saint Simplicius was pope from 468 to March 10, 483.He was born in Tivoli, Italy, the son of a citizen named Castinus. Most of what is known of him is derived from the Liber Pontificalis....
 between 468 and 483. It was dedicated to protomartyr Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen , known as the Protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
, whose body had been discovered a few decades before in the Holy Land
Holy Land

The Holy Land , generally refers to the geographical region of the Levant called Land of Canaan or Land of Israel in the Bible, and constitutes the Promised land....
, and brought into Rome. The church was the first in Rome to have a circular plan, inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre , also called the Church of the Resurrection, by Eastern Christianitys, is a Christianity Church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem....
 in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
.

Santo Stefano was probably financed by the wealthy Valerius
Valerius

Valerius originally was a Rome nomen of the gens Valeria, one of the oldest patrician families of the city. The name was in use throughout Roman history....
 family, whose estates covered large parts of the Caelian Hill. Their villa stood nearby, on the site of the present-day Hospital of San Giovanni - Addolorata. St Melanie, a member of the family, was a frequent pilgrim to Jerusalem and died there, so the family had connections to the Holy Land.

Originally the church had three concentrical ambulatories flanked by 22 Ionic columns, which surround the central circular space surmounted by a tambour
Tambour

In classical architecture, a tambour is the inverted bell of the Corinthian order capital around which are carved Acanthus leaves for decoration....
 (22 m high and 22 m wide). There were 22 windows in the tambour but most of them were walled up in the 15th century restoration. The outermost corridor was later demolished.

The church was embellished by Pope John I
Pope John I

Pope Saint John I was Pope from 523 to 526. He was a native of Tuscany , and was very old and frail by the time he was elected to the papacy....
 and Pope Felix IV
Pope Felix IV

Pope Saint Felix IV was pope from 526 to 530.He came from Samnium, the son of one Castorius. Following the death of Pope John I at the hands of the Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great, the papal voters gave in to the king's demands and chose Cardinal Felix as Pope....
 in the 6th century. In 1130 Innocent II
Pope Innocent II

Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Antipope Clement III ....
 had added three transversal arches to support the dome.

In the Middle Ages, Santo Stefano Rotondo was charged to the Canons of San Giovanni in Laterano, but as time went on it fell unto disrepair. In the middle of the 15th century, Flavio Biondo
Flavio Biondo

Flavio Biondo was an Italian Renaissance humanism historian. He was the historian who coined the term Middle Ages and is known as one of the History of archaeologys....
 praised the marble columns, marble covered walls and cosmatesque
Cosmatesque

Cosmatesque style is a style of floor-making typical of Medieval era Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. The name derives from Cosmati, one of the groups of marble craftsmen who created works by taking marble from ancient Roman ruins, and arranging the fragments in geometrical decorations....
 works-of-art of the church, but he added that unfortunately "nowadays Santo Stefano Rotondo hadn't got any roof". Blondus claimed that the church was built on the remains of an ancient Temple of Faunus
Faunus

In Religion in ancient Rome and its Roman mythology, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields. He was often equated with the Roman god Inuus, and also with the Greek god Pan ....
. Excavations in 1969 to 1975 revealed that the building was actually never converted from a pagan temple but was always a church, erected under Constantine I in the first half of the 4th century.

In 1454, Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V

Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455....
 entrusted the ruined church to the Pauline Fathers, the only Catholic Order founded by Hungarians. This was the reason why Santo Stefano Rotondo later became the unofficial church of the Hungarians in Rome. The church was restored by Bernardo Rossellino
Bernardo Rossellino

Bernardo di Matteo Gamberelli , better known as Bernardo Rossellino, was an Italy sculptor and architect, the elder brother of the painter Antonio Rossellino....
, probably under the guidance of Leon Battista Alberti.

In 1579, the Hungarian Jesuits followed the Pauline Fathers. The Collegium Hungaricum, established here by István Arator that year, was soon merged with the Collegium Germanicum in 1580, becoming the PCollegium Germanicum et Hungaricum
Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum

The Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum or simply Collegium Germanicum is a German language seminary for Roman Catholic priests in Rome, founded in 1552....
, because very few Hungarian students were able to travel to Rome from the Turkish-occupied Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary , which existed from 1000 to 1918, and then from 1920 to 1946, was a considerable state in Central Europe....
.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Stephani in Coelio Monte has been Friedrich Cardinal Wetter
Friedrich Cardinal Wetter

Friedrich Wetter is a German Cardinal of the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Germany. His resignation as Metropolitan bishop of Munich and Freising was accepted on Friday 2 February 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, who had held that post before becoming Pope John Paul II's Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of t...
 since 1985. His predecessor, József Mindszenty was famous as the persecuted Catholic leader of Hungary under the Communist dictature.
Sstefanorotondovsec

Exterior


Although the inside is circular, the exterior is on a cruciform plan

Interior


Santo Stefano Rotondo Stampa
The walls of the church are decorated with numerous frescoes, including those of Niccolň Circignani
Niccolň Circignani

Niccol? Circignani was an Italy painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerism period.Born in Pomarance, he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio....
 (Niccolň Pomarancio) and Antonio Tempesta
Antonio Tempesta

Antonio Tempesta was an Italy painter and engraver, a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. He was born and trained in Florence and painted in a variety of styles, influenced to some degree by "Contra-Maniera" or counter-Mannerism....
 portraying 34 scenes of martyrdom, commissioned by Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585....
 in the 16th century. All painting has an inscription explaing the scene and the name of the emperor who ordered the executions, as well as quotations from the Bible. The paintings are somewhat morbid, if not gruesome and naturalistic depictions of torture and execution.

Works of art


The altar was made by the Florentine artist Bernardo Rossellino
Bernardo Rossellino

Bernardo di Matteo Gamberelli , better known as Bernardo Rossellino, was an Italy sculptor and architect, the elder brother of the painter Antonio Rossellino....
 in the 15th century. The painting in the apse shows Christ between two martyrs. The mosaic and marble decoration is from the period 523-530. One mosaic shows the martyrs St Primus and St Felicianus flanking a jewelled cross.

There is a tablet recording the burial here of the Irish king Donough O'Brien
Donough O'Brien

Donough O'Brien was a Welsh-born Irish cricketer....
 of Cashel and Thomond, who died in Rome in 1064.

An ancient chair of Pope Gregory the Great from around 580 is preserved here.

The Chapel of Ss. Primo e Feliciano has very interesting and rare mosaics from the 7th century. The chapel was built by Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I

Pope Theodore I , who was pope November 24, 642 - May 14 649, is considered a Greeks, but was born in Palestine. He was made a cardinal deacon, and a full Cardinal by Pope John IV....
 who brought here the relics of the martyrs and buried them (together with the remains of his father).

Hungarian Chapel


Contrary to other nations of Europe, Hungarians lack their national church in Rome because the old Santo Stefano degli Ungheresi
Santo Stefano degli Ungheresi

Santo Stefano degli Ungheresi was the church of the Hungarians in Rome, next to the Vatican City. The old church was pulled down in 1776, to make room for an extension of St....
 near the Vatican
Vatican City

Vatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a Landlocked country sovereignty city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the Capital of Italy....
 was pulled down to make way for the sacristy of the St Peter's Basilica in 1778. As a compensation for the loss of the ancient church, Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, Pope from 1775 to 1799, was born at Cesena....
 built a Hungarian chapel in Santo Stefano Rotondo according to the plans of Pietro Camporesi.

The Hungarian chapel is dedicated to King Stephen I of Hungary
Stephen I of Hungary

Saint Stephen I was Grand Prince of the Hungarians and the first King of Hungary . He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime, broadly established Christianity in the region, and he is generally considered to be the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary....
, Szent István, the canonized first king of the Magyars. The feast of St Stephen is held on 20 August. Hungarian pilgrims frequently visit the place.

Hungarian experts took part in the ongoing restoration and archeological exploration of the church during the 20th century together with German and Italian colleagues. Notable Hungarian visitors were Vilmos Fraknói
Vilmos Fraknói

Vilmos Frakn?i was a Hungarian people historian. He was an expert in Hungarian ecclesiastical history....
, Frigyes Riedl
Frigyes Riedl

Frigyes Riedl was a prominent Magyars essayist, critic and literature historian. His most famous work is the monography of J?nos Arany, one of the most important 19th century Hungarian poets....
 and László Cs. Szabó who all wrote about the history and importance of Santo Stefano.

Recent archeological explorations revelead the late antique floor of the church in the chapel. The floor is composed of coloured marble slabs and was restored in 2006 by an international team led by Zsuzsanna Wierdl.

The frescoes of the chapel were painted in 1776 but recently older strata of paintings were discovered under them.

Burials


Archdeacon János Lászai, canon of Gyulafehérvár, was buried in the Santo Stefano Rotondo in 1523. Lászai left Hungary and moved to Rome where he became a papal confessor. His burial monument is an interesting example of Renaissance funeral sculpture. The inscription says: "Roma est patria omnium" (Rome is everybody's fatherland).

Mithraeum


Under the church there is a 2nd century mithraeum
Mithraeum

Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the mystery religion of Mithraism. They were often constructed underground or in a cave to resemble the cave where Mithras is said to have slain the sacred bull ....
, related to the presence of the barracks of Roman soldiers in the neighbourhood. The cult of Mithras was especially popular among soldiers. The remains of Castra Peregrinorum, the baracks of the peregrini, officials detached for special service to the capital from the provincial armies, were found right under Santo Stefano Rotondo. The mihraeum belonged to Castra Peregrinorum but it was probably also attended by the soldiers of Cohors V Vigilum, whose barracks stood nearby on the other side of Via della Navicella.

The mithraeum is currently being excavated. The remains of the Roman military barracks (from the Severan Age
Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the African general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
) and the mithraeum under the church remained closed from the public. A coloured marble bas-relief, "Mithras slaying the bull" from the 3rd century is today in Museo Nazionale Romano.

List of Cardinal Priest of the church

The titulus
Titulus

In Christian archeology, a titulus is one of a set number of churches of Rome#Ancient churches built round the edges of the city of Rome, which were ascribed to patrons, whose names often identified them:...
  S. Stephani in Coelio Monte was cited for the first time during the Roman synode of 499.
  • Marcello (494-?)
  • Benedetto (993- before 1010)
  • Benedetto (circa 1010 - before 1012)
  • Crescenzio (1012-?)
  • Ugo (or Ugone) (1062-?)
  • Sasso (or Saxo) dei Segni (circa 1117-1136)
  • Martino Cybo (or Guasino, or Suasinus), (1136-1143)
  • Raniero (1143-1144)
  • Villano Gaetani (1144-1147)
  • Gerardo (or Bernardo, or Gherardo) (1150- before 1159)
  • Gérard (circa 1170-1175)
  • Gero (1172), pseudocardinal of the Antipope Calixtus III
  • Vibiano Tommasi (1175-1185)
  • Giovanni (Salernitanus?) (1191-1208)
  • Robert Curson (or de Corzon, or Cursonus) (1216-1219)
  • Michel Du Bec-Crespin (1312-1318)
  • Pierre Le Tessier (1320-1325)
  • Pierre de Montemart (1327-1335)
  • Raymond de Montfort (or Ramon) (1338)
  • Guillaume d'Aure, O.S.B. (1339-1353)
  • Élie de Saint-Irier (or Saint Yrieux) (1356-1363)
  • Guillaume d'Aigrefeuille le Jeune (1367-1401)
  • Gugilemo d'Altavilla (1384 or 1381-1389)
  • Angelo Cino (or Ghini Malpighi) (1408-1412)
  • Pierre Ravat (or Rabat) (1408-1417), pseudocardinal of the Antipope Benedict XIII
    Antipope Benedict XIII

    Benedict XIII, born Pedro Mart?nez de Luna, , known as el Papa Luna in Aragonese and Spanish language, was an Aragon, and is officially considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be an Antipope....
  • Pierre de Foix, (1414 or 1415-1431)
  • Jean Carrier (1423-1429]]?), pseudocardinal of the Antipope Benedict XIII
    Antipope Benedict XIII

    Benedict XIII, born Pedro Mart?nez de Luna, , known as el Papa Luna in Aragonese and Spanish language, was an Aragon, and is officially considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be an Antipope....
  • Vacant (1431-1440)
  • Renault de Chartres (or Renaud) (1440-1444)
  • Jean d'Arces (1444-1449), pseudocardinal of the Antipope Felix V
    Antipope Felix V

    Amadeus VIII was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was surnamed the Peaceful and was the Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and was elevated by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor to the Duke of Savoy in 1416....
  • Jean Rolin (1448-1483)
  • Giovanni Giacomo Sclafenati
    Giovanni Giacomo Sclafenati

    Giovanni Giacomo Sclafenati was an Italy cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was bishop of Parma in Italy.He was made cardinal on 15 November 1483 by Pope Sixtus IV....
     (1483-1484); in commendam (1484-1497)
  • Vacant (1497-1503)
  • Jaime Casanova (1503-1504)
  • Antonio Pallavicini (or Antoniotto), in commendam (1504-1505)
  • Antonio Trivulzio l'Ancien (1505-1507)
  • Melchior von Meckau (1507-1509)
  • François Guillaume de Castelnau de Clermont-Lodčve (1509-1523)
  • Bernhard von Cles (1530-1539)
  • David Beaton
    David Beaton

    David Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scotland Cardinal prior to the Scottish Reformation.He was a younger son of John Beaton of Balfour in the county of Fife, and is said to have been born in 1494....
     (1539-1546)
  • Giovanni Girolamo Morone (1549-1553)
  • Giovanni Angelo de Medici (1553-1557)
  • Fulvio Giulio della Corgna (1557-1562)
  • Girolamo da Correggio (1562-1568)
  • Diego Espinosa (1568-1572)
  • Zaccaria Delfino (1578-1579)
  • Matteo Contarelli (1584-1585)
  • Federico Cornaro (1586-1590)
  • Antonio Maria Sauli (1591-1603)
  • Giacomo Sannesio (1604-1621)
  • Lucio Sanseverino (1621-1623)
  • Bernardino Spada (1627-1642)
  • Juan de Lugo (1644)
  • Giovanni Giacomo Panciroli (1644-1651)
  • Marcello Santacroce Publicola (1652-1674)
  • Bernardino Rocci (1675-1680)
  • Raimondo Capizucchi (1681-1687)
  • Francesco Bonvisi (1689-1700)
  • Giovanni Battista Tolomei
    Giovanni Battista Tolomei

    Giovanni Battista Tolomei was an Italian Jesuit theologian and Cardinal ....
     (1712-1726)
  • Giovanni Battista Salerno (1726-1729)
  • Camillo Cybo (1729-1731)
  • Antonio Saverio Gentili (1731-1747)
  • Filippo Maria Monti (1747-1754)
  • Fabrizio Serbelloni
    Fabrizio Serbelloni

    Fabrizio Serbelloni was an Italian Cardinal . He was from a prominent family in Milan.He was a graduate of the University of Pavia, becoming doctor in utroque iure....
     (1754-1763)
  • Pietro Paolo Conti (1763-1770)
  • Lodovico Calini (1771-1782)
  • Vacant (1782-1786)
  • Niccolň Colonna di Stigliano (1786-1796)
  • Étienne Hubert de Cambacérčs (1805-1818)
  • Vacant (1818-1834)
  • Francesco Tiberi (1834-1839)
  • Vacant (1839-1845)
  • Fabio Maria Asquini (1845-1877)
  • Manuel García Gil (1877-1881)
  • Paul Ludolf Melchers (1885-1895)
  • Sylwester Sembratowicz (1896-1898)
  • Jakob Missia (1899-1902)
  • Lev Skrbenský Hríšte (1902-1938)
  • Vacant (1938-1946)
  • Jozsef Mindszenty (1946-1975)
  • Vacant (1975-1985)
  • Friedrich Wetter (1985-)


See also


  • Caelian Hill
    Caelian Hill

    The Caelian Hill is one of the famous seven hills of Rome of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill....
  • Santa Maria in Domnica
    Santa Maria in Domnica

    Santa Maria in Domnica ? also known as Santa Maria alla Navicella ? is a basilica churches of Rome Rome....
  • Santi Quattro Coronati
    Santi Quattro Coronati

    Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient basilica in Rome. The church dates back to the 4th century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs....
  • Rotunda
    Rotunda

    Rotunda may refer to:*Rotunda , any building with a circular ground plan, often covered by a dome*Rotunda , a specific medieval blackletter script...


External links


  • , by Chris Nyborg.
  • , with Hungarian text only