Continuing our walk through Trastevere on Sunday morning …. (Santa Cecilia in the lower right of the map) …

{There will be a lot of details and information – if you read it all. But we learned so much about the history and art just from Rick Steves books while we were there …. I would read aloud to Andrew softly while we were outside the church or other places. I highly recommend Rick Steves books when you go to Europe}

If you remember from our itinerary, I intended that we would be able to visit St. Cecilia’s church only if we were able to get there before 12:30p on Sunday (they close for a few hours in the afternoon).

As it turned out, we got through customs and baggage and bed&breakfast so quickly, that we walked into the courtyard of Santa Cecilia before it opened at 9:30a. Perfect timing. We were there so early that we basically had the place to ourselves, just before the locals came in for Sunday morning Mass.

Image below is the gate leading into the courtyard. I beleive that nuns live in these buildings around the church …

The courtyard at St Cecilia – kind of a panoramic. In a city this ancient and crowded, this is the most greenery we saw in Trastevere …

[View with PicLens]

From Wikipedia:

The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pope Urban I; it was devoted to the Roman martyr Cecilia, martyred it is said under Marcus Aurelius, by the late fifth century, for in the synod of 499 of Pope Symmachus, the church is indicated with the Titulus Ceciliae. Tradition holds that the church was built over the house of the saint.^[1] The baptistery associated with this church, together with the remains of a Roman house of the early Empire, was found during some excavations under the Chapel of the Relics. On 22 November 545, Pope Vigilius was celebrating the saint in the church, when the emissary of Empress Theodora, Antemi Scribone, captured him.

Pope Paschal I rebuilt the church in 822, and moved here the relics of St Cecilia from the catacombs of St Calixtus. More restorations followed in the 18th century.

From Rick Steves:

Notice the church’s eclectic exterior. Its mismatched columns were recycled from pagan temples. The typical medieval bell tower sports an 18th century facade.

A Christian convert from a wealthy family in a time of persecution, Cecilia revealed her faith to her pagan husband on their wedding night and told him of her aspiration to remain chaste. An angel appeared to reason with the frustrated groom. Once converted, he devoted himself to carrying out Christian burials in the catacombs, until he himself was killed. Cecilia was soon condemned as well. The Romans, who tried unsuccessfully for three days to suffocate her with steam in her bath to make it appear accidental, finally lost patience and beheaded her. Cecilia bequeathed her house to the neighborhood community, and this spot has been a place of worship ever since.

In the days when Christianity was illegal, wealthy converts hosted Mass for the local community in their homes. When Christians were finally allowed to build churches, they often did so on the sites of these homes for the sake of continuity. While the Church of St. Cecilia originated in the third century, what we see today was built in the ninth century and extensively restored in the 18th century.

We entered the church along with one or 2 other sets of tourists…

side note: The older couple in the image below is using a Rick Steves book – Andrew said it was almost like being part of a group. Even though we were walking around town just the 2 of us, we’re all part of the Rick Steves club.

Notice the individual chairs instead of pews – so luxurious to me.

From Rick Steves:

The canopy above the altar, dating from the 1200s, represents an innovative fusion of Roman and French Gothic architecture and sculpture, showing that the artist (Arnolfo di Cambio) knew his classics and had also been to Paris.

The mosaic in the apse dates from the ninth century. Pope Paschal (on the let), who built the church, holds a little model of it in his hands. His square halo signifies that he was alive when the mosaic was made. His small head suggests he was less important than the others in the scene.

From Rick Steves:

Inside the church, find the statue of St. Cecilia by Stefano Maderno (in the case below the altar).

Viewing Maderno’s statue of Cecilia, remember that during the Catholic Counter-Reformation, art charged with great emotional impact was used to enhance faith. The new appetite for relics led to a search for Cecilia’s remains. When her tomb was opened, Maderno was present and claimed, along with other bystanders, to have seen her body perfectly preserved for an unforgettable instant before it turned to dust. He created this touching statue from his memory of that scene. Cecilia lies with her face turned and hidden, the violence of her death suggested only by the gash in her neck, the position of her fingers indicating the oneness of the Trinity.

looking back towards the entrance:

There is also a crypt beneath the church (it contains some ancient remains of Cecilia’s house), but we got there too early …

next time.