{"id":941,"date":"2025-11-03T14:41:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T19:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trask.co\/wordpress\/?page_id=941"},"modified":"2025-11-04T03:02:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T08:02:41","slug":"trestevere","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trask.co\/wordpress\/2025-sabbatical-pics-vids\/sites-around-rome\/trestevere\/","title":{"rendered":"Trestevere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n

Santa Maria in Trestevere<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Santa Maria began as a sanctuary built for Rome\u2019s first Christian community.\u00a0 It began in the dark days of persecutions as a house church used by the first Roman converts from the Jewish faith (note: Trestevere was originally a Jewish area of Rome that housed merchants and craftsmen, mostly foreigners).\u00a0 The Trestevere district was located just across the Tiber river from the Jewish District; the early Romans referred to it as “Trans Tyberim”\u2014<\/em>which, literally, means: “Across the Tiber.”<\/p>\n

St. Paul\u2019s evangelization (61-65 AD) also found fertile ground among the lower-class culturally diverse Tresteverini.\u00a0 It was in Trastevere that imperial guards hunted down most of their Christian victims for martyrdom in the Roman arenas. \u00a0It was also from Trastevere that most Christian families traveled secretly to bury their dead in catacombs along the Appian Way.<\/p>\n

Aside from being the oldest place of public worship in Rome, St. Maria is also the oldest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.\u00a0 In fact, legend associates it with the birth of Christ!\u00a0 Tradition links the dedication to Mary to the miraculous source of a fountain of mineral oil that was later interpreted by Christians as a sign auguring the birth of Christ. The oil flowed 38 years before the birth of Christ and it ran all the way to the Tiber.\u00a0 Modern scientists investigating the case have found that a small volcanic eruption could have caused such a flow.<\/p>\n

St. Jerome wrote in the 4th<\/sup> century that the Jewish community of that time had interpreted it as a sign that God\u2019s grace would soon flow into the world.\u00a0 The first Christians recall the miraculous flowing as a prophecy of Christ\u2019s birth and established an early meeting place on the sacred spot.\u00a0\u00a0 An inscription near the apse marks the spot where the miracle is said to have occurred.<\/p>\n

By the 4th<\/sup> century we have records for the construction of a large church dedicated to the Virgin Mary by Pope Julius I (337-52) and the building appears in a list of titular churches compiled by the Council of 499.<\/p>\n

It was in the 12th century that Marian devotion really spread throughout Europe and S. Maria\u2019s mosaics have a special place in the history of Marian devotion.\u00a0 They are considered the first example of the \u201cglorification\u201d of the Virgin in which Mary is shown as a youthful and queenly spouse \u2013 rather than as a Madonna with child.\u00a0 Note that she is enthroned on equal footing with Christ the King.\u00a0 On Mary\u2019s right are St. Calixtus, St. Lawrence and Pope Innocent II holding a model of the church.\u00a0 To Christ\u2019s left are St. Peter, St. Cornelius, Pope Julius I and St. Calepodius.<\/p>\n

The facade is by Carlo Fontana (1702).\u00a0 Over the portal note the 4 baroque statues of S. Maria\u2019s favorite saints: Calixtus, Cornelius, Pope Julius and Calepodius (All their relics are beneath the main altar inside!).<\/p>\n

St. Chrysogonus in Trestevere<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

This church, dedicated to St. Chrysogonus, a 3rd-century Christian martyr saint, has a long and fascinating history and is a remarkable example of Roman religious architecture.\u00a0 The Church of St. Chrysogon, was one of the first twenty-five parishes in Rome. It was first built in the fourth century over the home of Saint Chrysogonus. The church was enlarged in the twelfth century and finally rebuilt again in the seventeenth century.<\/p>\n

Saint Chrysogonus was a Roman military officer condemned to die during the Diocletian persecutions. Even after he was imprisoned, he was able to offer spiritual direction to Saint Anastasia by her writing letters. He was eventually beheaded and thrown into the sea. His body was recovered and buried.<\/p>\n

St. Cecilia in Trestevere<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

In the heart of Trestevere, this church has been known as one of the cities most important shrines since at least 499.\u00a0 Santa Cecilia is remembered as a married woman (of the Cecilii lineage) who was martyred in the first half of the 3rd century with her husband (Valerian),\u00a0 her brother-in-law (Tiburius), and an instantly converted onlooker (Maximus).\u00a0 A place of worship was set up by the 5th century and a basilica erected by Paschal (817-824) (Pope Paschal I rebuilt the edifice as a basilica in 821 to safeguard the saint\u2019s body which was recovered intact in the catacombs of S. Callisto.).\u00a0 The present structure dates to 1599.<\/p>\n

Cecilia was sentenced to die by asphyxiation inside her own family caldarium;\u00a0a steamroom.\u00a0 After surviving for three days in the steam, she was stabbed to death and beheaded.\u00a0 In 1599 her sarcophagus was opened for inspection with the sculptor Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) as an onlooker.\u00a0 He carved what he saw \u2013 now located beneath the main altar (turned on one side, the face turned down, and three of the fingers extended which was taken to allude to the Trinity).\u00a0 The caldarium is used as a chapel.\u00a0 Still to be seen are the vents through which heated air came.\u00a0 On view in the crypt are sarcophagi containing the remains of Cecilia and her three fellow martyrs.\u00a0 Beside them are the tombs of two early popes: Sts. Urban (222-239) and Lucius (253-254).<\/p>\n

St. Cecilia is the patroness of music and musicians since the 5th century.\u00a0 Accounts of her martyrdom speak of how she \u201csang within heart to God alone\u201d during her wedding ceremony seemingly oblivious to the cantantibus organis, the \u201csinging\u201d of the musical instruments.\u00a0 A curious misreading of the Latin caused a widespread belief in the 15th century that she played the organ! (See the ceiling painting in the pics below).<\/p>\n

Of very special interest in the apse is a 9th century Byzantine mosaic of Christ, Cecilia, Valerian (her chaste spouse), and others, including Pope Paschal, who is shown with a square halo (living at the time of the art).\u00a0 In the nun\u2019s choir in the adjoining convent is a Last Judgment by Pietro Cavallini, a masterpiece of 1293.<\/td>\n

Clicking an image opens the photo-viewer
\n