San Vitale, Rome

The Basilica of Sts. Vitalis, Valeris, Gervase and Protase (Italian: Basilica di Santi Vitale e Compagni Martiri in Fovea, Latin: Ss. Vitalis, Valeriae, Gervasii et Protasii) is a titular minor basilica church in Rome. The Roman Catholic church is commonly named Basilica di San Vitale. The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Vitalis is Adam Maida.

For the eponymous basilica in Ravenna, see Basilica of San Vitale.
Basilica of Sts. Vitalis, Valeris, Gervase and Protase
Basilica di Santi Vitale e Compagni Martiri in Fovea (in Italian)
Basilica Ss. Vitalis, Valeriae, Gervasii et Protasii(in Latin)
Façade of the Basilica of San Vitale
Religion
AffiliationRoman Catholic
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusMinor basilica
LeadershipAdam Maida
Year consecrated401
Location
Location Rome, Italy
Geographic coordinates41°53′58.8″N 12°29′27.1″E
Architecture
TypeChurch
StyleRoman
Groundbreakingca. 400
Specifications
Direction of façadeSE
Length60 metres (200 ft)
Width18 metres (59 ft)
Website
Official website

History

The basilica was built in 400 with funds provided by Vestina, a wealthy dowager,[1] and was consecrated by Pope Innocent I in 401/402. The dedication to St. Vitalis and his family (Saint Valeria, his wife, and Sts. Gervasius and Protasius, their sons) is dated to 412. This church is recorded as Titulus Vestinae in the acts of the 499 synod of Pope Symmachus, and three presbyters are listed.

San Vitale was restored several times, the most important being the rebuilding by Pope Sixtus IV before the Jubilee of 1475, and then in 1598, 1938 and 1960. The floor level of the church is currently located several metres below the level of the street on which it is located, the (via Nazionale).

Exterior

The portico 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 IX built the staircase to the 5th century portico in 1859.

Interior

The church has a single nave, with walls frescoed with scenes of martyrdom, among which a Martyrdom of St Ignatius of Antioch, in which a ruined Colosseum is depicted. The apsis, original of the 5th century, is decorated with a fresco by Andrea Commodi, The Ascent to Calvary.

Cardinal Priest of the Basilica di San Vitale

Among the previous titulars, Gennaro Cesio, appointed in 494 by Pope Gelasius I, and St. John Fisher, martyred in 1535 by Henry VIII. The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Vitalis is Adam Maida.

Free bread was distributed to the poor by the church according to the will of a Roman nobleman, Francesco Silla.

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References
  1. David Hunt, Chapter VIII of The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XIII, p.251

Bibliography
  • Armellini, Mariano (1891). Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX (in Italian). Roma: Edizioni del Pasquino. pp. 187–189.
  • Krautheimer, Richard; Spencer Corbett; Volfango Frankl (1970). Corpus basilicarum Christianarum Romae: Le basiliche cristiane antiche di Roma. Monumenti di antichità cristiana : ser. 2, v. 2. Citta del Vaticano: Pontificio istituto di archeologia cristiana. pp. 313 ff.
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