Ripa in Roma in Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Latium, Rome, Italy — Central Italy (Tyrrhenian Coast)

Chiesa di San Giorgio al Velabro
⎯⎯⎯
Church of Saint George at the Velabrum

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

1. Chiesa di San Giorgio al Velabro / Church of Saint George at the Velabrum Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Italian:
secc.: III, V, VII, VIII, IX, XII, XIII, XX
Giorgio sorge nella zona posta fra il Palatino, l'Aventino e il Tevere, adiacente al L Campidoglio ed al Foro Romano, proprio dove la leggenda vuole che si venisse ad impigliare la cesta che trasportava Romolo e Remo, e dove Romolo tracciò il solco sacro dei confini di Roma. L'area era anticamente denominata Velabrum, poiché le frequenti piene del fiume l'avevano resa una grossa palude: in latino vel, da cui l'attuale toponimo che accompagna la dedicazione della chiesa. Questa sorse sul luogo dove nel V sec. c'era una diaconia retta da monaci orientali, ossia un istituto che svolgeva attività caritativa con il compito di amministrare e di distribuire le provvigioni ai poveri. Sulle mura dell'antico istituto (una semplice aula absidata affiancata da una stanza adibita a magazzino per le derrate), che avevano a loro volta inglobato precedenti costruzioni di epoca severiana (III sec.), tra i secc. VII ed VIII fu eretta la chiesa dedicata a S. Giorgio, santo guerriero della Cappadocia. L'edificio presenta una pianta a tre navate ad andamento irregolare, i muri perimetrali non sono infatti paralleli ma convergono, restringendosi, verso l'abside e la parete di fondo è più stretta rispetto alla facciata; lo spazio interno è scandito da due file di otto colonne antiche di spoglio, diverse per dimensione, materiale e capitelli, poste a sostegno di arcate, anch'esse irregolari. La navata centrale è inoltre illuminata da piccole finestre e da un largo oculo sul muro di facciata. La zona presbiteriale è rialzata mediante gradini ed è probabilmente il risultato di un intervento ascrivibile al IX sec., come si evince dalle murature dell'abside; questa parte, riservata al clero, è inoltre qualificata dallo splendido ciborio marmoreo con preziosi inserti musivi,

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

opera dei maestri cosmateschi (XII sec.). Il catino absidale è decorato dall'affresco raffigurante Cristo benedicente sul globo, fra la Vergine e S. Giorgio a cavallo (a sinistra) e S. Pietro e S. Sebastiano (a destra), sullo sfondo di palme (completamente ridipinte nel Cinquecento) simbolo del paesaggio paradisiaco. Per quanto risulti evidente il rifacimento della parte inferiore, l'affresco rappresenta un significativo esempio della pittura romana allo scorcio del Duecento; esso è stato variamente attribuito: a Pietro Cavallini, in base a confronti stilistici con gli affreschi della controfacciata di S. Cecilia in Trastevere, e ad Arnolfo di Cambio, in relazione alle somiglianze fra la figura di S. Giorgio a cavallo e quella di S. Tiburzio scolpita nel ciborio della stessa basilica trasteverina. Il semplice e scarno prospetto è preceduto dal portico (completamente ricostruito dopo l'esplosione del 1993) fatto erigere nel XIII sec. dal cardinale Jacopo Stefaneschi, decano della chiesa tra il 1296 e il 1301, come si legge nell'iscrizione a lettere gotiche posta sull'architrave. Al secolo precedente risale invece l'elegante campanile

The view of the Church of Saint George at the Velabrum and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

2. The view of the Church of Saint George at the Velabrum and Marker

romanico. In posizione preminente rispetto alla chiesa è l'arco costruito nel IV sec. d.C., cosiddetto di Giano quadrifronte, che al carattere monumentale univa la funzione primaria di proteggere i mercanti del Foro Boario e del Foro Olitorio, che qui avevano sede, durante le trattative. Sotto di esso scorre un ramo della Cloaca Maxima, creata -forse dai re etruschi- per bonificare la zona (si può visitare passando per un cancello aperto di fronte alla chiesa). Al fianco sinistro della chiesa è invece addossato il piccolo arco degli Argentari, posto nel III sec. d.C. a segnare una delle entrate del Foro Boario; esso, dedicato dai banchieri del mercato (gli Argentari) e dai mercanti di buoi a Settimio Severo ed alla sua famiglia, è elegantemente definito da fitti rilievi tipici della scultura paleocristiana, che rievocano leggende di tesori misteriosi nascosti nel sottosuolo del Velabrum, segnato da grotte e cunicoli.

Didascalie
(Foto #1) Pianta
(Foto #2) Prospetto

English:
Centuries: 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 20th
The Church of San Giorgio is in an area between the Palatine, the Aventine and the Tiber, near the Capitol and the Roman Forum, where legend has it that the basket carrying Romulus and Remus got caught, and where Romolus traced the sacred trench to mark the confines of Rome. The area was once called Velabrum, as frequent flooding from the river had turned it into a giant vel, the Latin word for marsh that features in the church's name. The church was built on the site of a Vth cent. deaconry run by Oriental monks i.e. an institute that performed charitable activities and gave provisions to the poor. This old institute consisted of a simple apsed hall with a store to one side for supplies, and had in turn engulfed earlier premises from the time of Severus (IIIrd cent.); over its walls,

The front view of the Church of Saint George at the Velabrum and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

3. The front view of the Church of Saint George at the Velabrum and Marker

between the VIIth and VIIIth cents, a church was built in honour of St. George, the warrior Saint from Cappadocia. The building has a three-naved groundplan of irregular design; in fact the outer walls are not parallel but converge, narrowing towards the apse, and the end wall is shorter than the façade; the interior space is articulated with two rows of eight old recycled columns with different sizes, materials and capitals, supporting arches that are irregular as well. The central nave is illuminated by small windows and a large window on the façade wall. The presbytery area is raised on steps and is probably the result of work ascribable to the IXth cent., judging by the masonry in the apse; this area was reserved for the clergy and contains a splendid marble trough with fine mosaic inlays executed by the Comacine masters (XIIth cent.). The apse bay contains a fresco depicting Christ Blessing the World, with the Virgin and St. George on Horseback (left) and St. Peter and St. Sebastian (right), against a background of palms (repainted throughout in the XVIth cent.) to symbolise the landscape in Heaven. From what has emerged from the

The inside view of the Church of Saint George at the Velabrum image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

4. The inside view of the Church of Saint George at the Velabrum

reconstruction of the lower section, this fresco is an important example of late XIIIth cent. painting in Rome and has been attributed both to Pietro Cavallini, for the similarities in style to frescoes in the counter-façade of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, and to Arnolfo di Cambio, due to resemblances between the St. George on Horseback figure and the figure of St. Tiburzio sculpted on the trough of the same basilica in Trastevere. A simple, unadorned façade is preceded by a portico (completely rebuilt after the explosion of 1993) built in the XIIIth cent. by Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi, Dean of the Church from 1296 to 1301, as an inscription in Gothic letters on the architrave confirms. The fine Romanesque bell tower is datable to the century before. In a more prominent position than the church stands a IVth cent. A.D. arch, known as the Giano Quadrifronte Arch, whose main purpose (other than as a monument) was to protect the district's markets in the Foro Boario and the Foro Olitorio during business hours. Under the arch runs a branch of the Cloaca Maxima, possibly built by Etruscan Kings to reclaim the area (may be visited by passing

Fresco depicting Christ Blessing the World image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

5. Fresco depicting Christ Blessing the World

through an open gate opposite the church). To the left of the church stands the small Argentari Arch, built in the IIIrd cent. A.D. to mark one of the entrances to the Foro Boario; this was a gift from the market bankers (Argentari) and cattle merchants to Septimus Severus and his family, and is finely decorated with elaborate reliefs, typical of early Christian sculpture, that illustrate the legends of mysterious treasures hidden beneath the ground in the caverns and tunnels of the Velabrum.

Captions
(Photo #1) Floor Plan
(Photo #2) Elevation

Erected by Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities Presidency of the Council of Ministers Department of Tourism Superintendency for Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Rome City of Rome Department of Cultural Policies - Superintendency for Cultural Heritage Department of Tourism and Jubilee Tourism Promotion Agency of Rome.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1296.

Location. 41° 53.369′ N, 12° 28.998′ E. Marker is in Roma, Lazio (Latium, Rome), in Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale. It is in Ripa. It is on Via del Velabro just west of Via di S. Teodoro, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located at the east side of the church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Via del Velabro 19, Roma, Lazio 00186, Italy. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Europe,

the European Union,

the Schengen Area,

a coastal Mediterranean country,

and the Western World.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Bernardino Bolasco (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Terme di età Imperiale / Imperial Period Baths

Paid Advertisement

(about 120 meters away); Vacanze Romane / Roman Holiday (about 120 meters away); Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia / Church of St. Anastasia (about 150 meters away); Villaggio di Capanne / Hut Village (about 150 meters away); Tempio della Magna Mater / Temple of Magna Mater (about 150 meters away); Clivus Victoriae e Fontana / Clivus Victoriae and Fountain (about 150 meters away); Tempio di Victoria / Temple of Victoria (about 150 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roma.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 30, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 156 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 31, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.

Chiesa di San Giorgio al Velabro⎯⎯⎯Church of Saint George at the Velabrum

Chiesa di San Giorgio al Velabro
⎯⎯⎯
Church of Saint George at the Velabrum