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

Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia
⎯⎯⎯
Church of St. Anastasia

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

1. Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia / Church of St. Anastasia Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Italian:
secc.: IV, VIII, IX, XV, XVII
Architetto: L. Arrigucci (1575-post 1643)
Le origini della chiesa vanno identificate nell'antico titulus Anastasiae, fondato nel IV sec. da una nobildonna di nome Anastasia, ai piedi dello sperone sud-occidentale del Palatino. I tituli erano luoghi di culto comunitari, simili ad aule absidate, in cui si riunivano i fedeli nei primi secoli del Cristianesimo. Uno sguardo d'insieme all'ubicazione dei titoli romani mostra che per la maggior parte essi si trovavano lontano dal centro della città; almeno fino al V sec. i maggiori gruppi cristiani insistevano su aree periferiche, verso le Mura Aureliane, e il centro -occupato prevalentemente da famiglie patrizie- era ancora in maggioranza pagano. Dal IV sec. in poi i luoghi del culto cristiano cominciarono a penetrare sempre più nel tessuto urbano, senza tuttavia mai arrivare ad insidiare l'area più densamente connotata dal passato pagano; quello di S. Anastasia rappresenta dunque un'eccezione, si trova infatti nell'area immediatamente circostante al Foro Romano, nella Regione XI del Circo Massimo. Sulla chiesa titolare, insediata su una costruzione di età romana, intervenne papa Damaso (366-383), a cui probabilmente si può ascrivere una prima parziale ricostruzione dell'edificio in cui furono inglobati i resti di insulae, abitazioni in muratura di calcestruzzo con paramento in laterizi (in gran parte ancora visibili sul fianco della chiesa). Nel VI sec. la chiesa fu dedicata a S. Anastasia, con cui si intendeva non più la fondatrice, bensì una santa omonima molto venerata a Costantinopoli. Sull'edificio si intervenne ancora nei primi anni del pontificato di papa Leone III (795-816), con l'aggiunta -al transetto del IV sec.- della navata centrale scandita da colonne (forse a sostegno di una trabeazione) e di due

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navate laterali; in tal modo S. Anastasia ebbe un'impostazione molto simile a quella delle grandi fondazioni costantiniane, e ne risultò un tempio perfettamente inserito nel clima della rinascita artistica esemplata sui modelli paleocristiani, che di lì a qualche anno avrebbe interessato tutte le principali fabbriche sacre romane. Da queste la chiesa del Palatino si differenziò per l'assenza della cripta semianulare, ma la casa romana rimasta sepolta al di sotto, ne impedì l'inserimento. Un restauro importante ci fu alla fine del Quattrocento su commissione di papa Sisto IV (1471-1484), in vista del grande Giubileo del 1475; in occasione dell' Anno Santo furono messe in atto tutte le consuete operazioni per l'accoglienza dei pellegrini, ma nel progetto sistino c'era la volontà di una vera e propria "rifondazione" della città. Le mire del papa si espressero nel restauro di quasi tutte le chiese, con particolare attenzione per la zona che gravitava attorno al Campidoglio e al Palatino. Dell'intervento quattrocentesco restano tuttavia solo le trifore sui fianchi dell'edificio (il campanile rinascimentale è infatti andato distrutto). A

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

2. Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia / Church of St. Anastasia Marker

partire dal 1598 incominciò la ricostruzione della facciata preceduta da un portico, ma il nuovo prospetto -portato a compimento nel 1618- fu spazzato via da un ciclone nel 1634. L'aspetto attuale della chiesa è ascrivibile all'intervento promosso nel 1636 da papa Urbano VIII Barberini (1623-1644), che a dirigere la fabbrica chiamò L. Arrigucci; questi realizzò una facciata in laterizi di chiaro stampo berniniano (a due ordini, coronata da candelabri e fiancheggiata da due piccole torri), uno spazioso interno a tre navate divise da colonne antiche addossate a pilastri, con cappelle laterali. Il tempio fu poi arricchito dagli interventi pittorici e scultorei relativi ai secc. XVII, XVIII e XIX.

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

English:
centuries: IV, VIII, IX, XV, XVII
Architect: L. Arrigucci (1575-post 1643)
This church began as the ancient titulus Anastasiae, founded in the IVth cent. by a noblewoman called Anastasia, at the south-west foot of the Palatine Hill. Tituli were places of communal worship, in the form of apsed halls, where congregations met in the early years of Christianity. On the whole, these Roman "tituli" were mostly situated far away from the city centre; up until the Vth cent. the largest groups of Christians kept to the outskirts, near the Aurelian Walls, while the centre, inhabited mainly by patrician families, was still predominantly pagan. From the IVth cent. on, growing numbers of places of Christian worship began to appear in the town, without actually touching on the main areas of Rome's pagan past. So St. Anastasia's was an exception, as it stood right next to the Roman Forum, in the XIth District of the Circus Maximus. The early church had been built over a Roman construction and Pope Damaso (366-383) was probably responsible for an early partial reconstruction

The front view of the Church of St. Anastasia and Marker (far left side) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse

3. The front view of the Church of St. Anastasia and Marker (far left side)

incorporating the remains of insulae, concrete dwellings faced in brick (largely visible still to the side of the church). In the VIth cent. the church was dedicated to St. Anastasia, no longer in relation to the founder, but to a saint of the same name who was highly worshipped in Constantinople. Further work was carried out in the early years of Pope Leo IIIrd's rule (795-816). A central nave with columns (perhaps supporting a pediment) was added on to the IVth cent. transept, along with two side naves; this made St. Anastasia's layout very similar to the ones in great Constantinian buildings, creating a church that was perfectly in line with the climate of artistic revival inspired by early Christian models that was shortly to spread to all of Rome's major religious buildings. But the church on the Palatine differed from the others in that it had no semi-circular crypt as a buried Roman house below had prevented one from being built. Major restoration work was ordered at the end of the XVth cent. by Pope Sixtus IVth (1471-1484) for the coming Jubilee Year of 1475; that Holy Year, the usual preparations to welcome pilgrims were undertaken

Church of St. Anastasia image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

4. Church of St. Anastasia

The ceiling of the church with the 1722 “Martyrdom of Anastasia” fresco by Cerruti

but Sixtus IVth's project was propelled by a certain drive towards "refounding" the city of Rome. The Pope's aspirations were channelled into restoration projects for nearly all the city's churches, and special attention was paid to the area around the Capitol and the Palatine. All that is left of such work in St. Anastasia's are the triple arches along the sides of the building (the Renaissance bell tower sadly perished). In 1598 a reconstruction of the façade began, with a portico in front, but this new feature (completed in 1618) was blown away by a storm in 1634. The church owes its present form to work sponsored in 1636 by Pope Urban VIIIth, a Barberini (1623-1644), who summoned L. Arrigucci to direct the work; Arrigucci built a brick façade, obviously inspired by Bernini's style (two orders topped with candelabras and encased by two small towers), and a spacious interior with three naves separated by ancient columns laid against pilasters, with side chapels. The church was later embellished with XVIIth, XVIIIth and XIXth cent. paintings and sculptures.

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 Municipality of Rome - Department of Cultural Policies - Superintendency for Cultural Heritage - Department of Tourism and Jubilee Tourist 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 1475.

Location. 41° 53.302′ N, 12° 29.044′ E. Marker is in Roma, Lazio (Latium, Rome), in Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale. It is in Rione X Campitelli. It is on Piazza di Sant'Anastasia just east of Via di S. Teodoro.

The inside view of the Church of St. Anastasia image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

5. The inside view of the Church of St. Anastasia

The marker is located along the northwestern wall in front of the church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Piazza di Sant'Anastasia 1, 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: Terme di età Imperiale / Imperial Period Baths (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Clivus Victoriae e Fontana / Clivus Victoriae and Fountain (about 120 meters away); Villaggio di Capanne / Hut Village (about 120 meters away); Tempio della Magna Mater / Temple of Magna Mater (about 120 meters away); Chiesa di San Giorgio al Velabro / Church of Saint George at the Velabrum (about 150 meters away); Tempio di Victoria / Temple of Victoria (about 150 meters away); Tempietto / Small Temple (about 150 meters away); Complesso Santuariale e Domestico Augusteo / Augustan Sanctuary and Residential Complex (about 150 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roma.

Also see . . . Sant'Anastasia al Palatino. Wikipedia (Submitted on February 1, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The alter and apse of the Church of St. Anastasia image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 5, 2024

6. The alter and apse of the Church of St. Anastasia

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 30, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 110 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 1, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.

Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia⎯⎯⎯Church of St. Anastasia

Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia
⎯⎯⎯
Church of St. Anastasia