Day 3
Sunday, April 7
We spent the majority of this day in Trastevere. Trastevere means city "across the Tiber". There are many churches to see in this area and we usually stop for lunch in the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. It's a charming area with much to see!
On our walk to Trastevere from our hotel, we visited the Circus Maximus. At the end of the day, we visited the Basilica of St. Praxedes which we had missed on Monday. We arrived just before the basilica closed.
1. Circus Maximus
To the right of S. Anastasia and beyond the Via de Cerchi stood the Circus Maximus, between the slopes of the Palatine and the Aventine. It was begun by the kings, enlarged by Cæsar, and made capable of seating 385,000 persons. The last race took place under King Totila, 549.
The place has a melancholy interest, because of the great fire of Rome in A.D. 64, for which thousands of innocent Christians were condemned to barbarous deaths. Nero had set fire to the city, partly out of a fiendish spirit of destruction, partly with the object of rebuilding it on a plan of greater splendor; and to screen himself from suspicion he charged the Christians with the crime. The flames first broke out on July 19, A.D. 64, among the shops and warehouses near the Circus Maximus. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)
2. The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island
The part of the island where stood the ancient temple of Æsculapius, is now occupied by the church and Franciscan monastery of S. Bartolomeo. The church was built by the Emperor Otho III, about the year 983, to receive the body of the Apostle, St. Bartholomew, translated from Lipari to Benevento in 809, and from Benevento to Rome in 983. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)
3. Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere
"Ave Maria" sung by the Immaculate Conception High School choir
Originally the family mansion of St. Cecilia, it was converted into a church by St. Urban in 230, in accordance with her dying request. The approach is by a spacious courtyard, on the right of which is a large marble cantharus, or vase, belonging probably to the original palace. The bell tower dates from 1120.
The delicate carving of the drapery should be noticed. The Blessed Sacrament is usually reserved in the first chapel of the right aisle. Next to this is the Caldarium, or bathroom, where St. Cecilia was martyred, with the original pipes along the wall for conveying steam from the boiler. The marble slab on the altar is the one on which she was struck by the executioner, and above it is an exquisite painting of her martyrdom by Guido Reni
The body found incorrupt in A.D. 1599. Nearly eight hundred years afterwards, Cardinal Sfondrati, of the title of St. Cecilia, made considerable alterations in the church, and in course of his excavations in the sanctuary, came upon a wide vault beneath the altar. Two marble sarcophagi met his eyes. Trustworthy witnesses had already been summoned, and in their presence one of these sarcophagi was opened. It was found to contain a coffin of cypress wood . The Cardinal himself drew back the coffin lid. First appeared the precious lining and silk gauze with which Paschal had covered the body nearly eight centuries before. Its colour had faded, but the fabric was still entire, and through its transparent folds could be seen the shining gold of the robes in which the martyr was clothed. After pausing a few moments the Cardinal gently removed this silken covering, and the virgin form of St. Cecilia appeared in the very same attitude in which she had breathed her last on the pavement of the house, and which neither Urban nor Paschal had ventured to disturb. Lying on her right side, with her arms extended in front of her body, she looked like one in deep sleep. The head was turned downwards, the knees were slightly bent. The body was perfectly incorrupt, and by a special miracle retained, after more than thirteen hundred years, all its grace and modesty, and recalled, with the most truthful exactness, Cecilia breathing forth her soul on the pavement of the bath.
All Rome came to see the virgin martyr, whose body lay exposed for veneration for the space of four or five weeks; and when the tomb was again closed on St. Cecilia's day, 1599, the Pope himself sang the Mass. Cardinal Sfondrati erected the beautiful high altar which now stands over the Saint's tomb, and beneath it be placed an exquisite statue by Maderno, the foremost sculptor of the day, who had frequently seen the body, and made an exact copy of it in the very posture in which it lay. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)
4. Basilica of Saint Chrysogonus
On the ceiling of the nave is a copy of Guercino's Triumph of St. Chrysogonus, the original of which was stolen at the beginning of the eighteenth century and found its way to England. The Saint was a martyr, who was beheaded in the persecution of Diocletian, his body being cast into the sea. The devotion of the early Church to him is attested by the insertion of his name in the Canon of the Mass. In the right aisle may be seen the incorrupt body of Venerable Anna Maria Taigi, who died in 1857. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)
About Blessed Anna Maria Taigi:
She was an Italian Catholic who married Domenico Taigi at age 20. His turbulent manner and quick temper caused Anna much suffering, but it also caused her to exercise the virtues of patience, kindness, meekness, humility, and forgiveness. Her relationship with him sanctified her soul in ineffable ways, and it speaks to the hearts of all those who are enduring difficult marital situations. Throughout her marriage, Anna Maria bore seven children, three of whom died in childhood. The remaining two boys and two girls were richly blessed by her loving and attentive concern for their religious, moral, and academic education.
In 1863, Anna Maria was given the title of Servant of God and she was beatified on May 20, 1920. At her beatification ceremony, Pope Benedict XV spoke of her as being an exemplary wife and mother amid poor and trying circumstances. She was frequently in ecstasy and worked miracles of healing, read hearts, foretold deaths, and saw visions about the coming of future events. For example, she foretold the first two world wars of this century. Eighteen years after her death, her body remained perfectly preserved as if it had been just buried the day before.
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi lends us a beautiful example of what it means to live a life of total self-giving as a wife, mother, and friend of Our Lord. In her, we may find a true companion and a source of consolation during difficult times. Her wisdom can fortify our souls and give us the strength to carry on. Source
5. Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere
One of the most venerable of all the Christian buildings in Rome.
Its history reaches much further back than the time of Constantine. The historian Lampridius relates that during the Pontificate of Callixtus I the Christians were in possession of a place of assembly in Trastevere, their right to which was, however, disputed by the corporation of popinarii, or tavern-keepers. The question was brought before the Emperor Alexander Severus, who decided in favor of the Christians, saying that it was better that God should be worshipped there, in whatever fashion it might be, than that the place should be given over to revelry.
The mosaics in the façade are of the twelfth century. They represent our Saviour throned between angels. The ceiling, richly decorated, has a beautiful painting of the Assumption, by Domenichino.
6. Basilica dei Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti
This church, the crypt of which dates from the time of Constantine, is one of the most beautiful in Rome. It is served by the Carmelites, and occupies the south side of the Piazza di S. Martino, near S. Prassede. Its front entrance stands in the Via delle Sette Sale , a quiet road leading to S. Pietro in Vincoli.
The more interesting features of the interior are: the nave with its twenty-four ancient columns, and its roof (restored by St. Charles Borromeo) richly gilt; the landscape paintings by Poussin in the right aisle, illustrating subjects from the life of the prophet Elias; the frescoes of Old St. Peter’s, and of the old Lateran basilica in the left aisle; where also is a fresco of a council held in this church by Pope St. Sylvester in 326; the noble sanctuary with its double flight of steps, its altar of costly marbles, and its apse with Cavalucci’s frescoes; the Confession or subterranean chapel, the descent into which is made by a marble stair in front of the sanctuary and the crypt, which was the original church opened by St Sylvester.
The church is rich in shrines of the saints, possessing the body of St Martin, Pope and martyr, under the high altar, the bodies of Popes St Sylvester, SS. Fabian and Sc terns, the two latter being martyrs, in the crypt. The remains of SS. Sisinnius, Anastasius, Artemius, Victor I, and of a great number of other martyrs, “whose names are known to God alone,” were translated from the catacombs of St. Priscilla by Pope Sergius II (844 — 847). (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)
7. Basilica of Saint Praxedes
This church, which stands close to St. Mary Major, is very ancient, being mentioned in the acts of a council held in 490. It was rebuilt by Pope Paschal I in 822, and remains practically as he left it. It is entered by a side door opening into the right aisle; the front entrance through an ancient gateway in the Via S. Martino and an atrium, or open court, being now closed. There is much to interest us both spiritually and artistically in the interior.
The Sacred Pillar of the Flagellation, at which our Blessed Saviour was scourged, is preserved here. It is only half of the original pillar, the other portion being at Jerusalem.
SS. Pudentiana and Praxedes, daughters of Pudens and Claudia, are well known for their heroic charity to the poor, and their zeal in rescuing the bodies and the blood of the martyrs from desecration. They went forth fearlessly in days of persecution to gather the relics of martyrs for Christian entombment and their blood as a sacred memorial.
