St. Prassede: Unveiling the Hidden Beauty of Rome’s Gem

The Column of Flagellation of Christ, the urn with the bones of St. Valentine (protector of people in love), the first sculpture of Bernini: St. Prassede is a treasure of the Eternal City

Nave and altar

Located less than 10 minutes walking from Maurizio’s apartment (https://maps.app.goo.gl/wbYAdT1s9srxrCZA8), the medieval Church of St. Prassede, formally known as “Basilica di Santa Prassede”, is just few steps from Santa Maria Maggiore, one of Rome’s four major basilicas.

St. Prassede, the daughter of a Roman senator and disciple of St. Paul, played a significant role in sheltering persecuted Christians during the early centuries of Christianity. She and her sister, St. Pudenziana, were killed because they used to bury the martyrs of the persecutions of the emperor Antoninus Pius in the wells located in the vast land owned by their father.

During the centuries, In the church dedicated to her, a series of extraordinary objects and relics have found a place. In a niche to the right of the entrance, a column brought to Rome from Jerusalem by Cardinal Giovanni Colonna in 1223 is preserved: tradition holds that it is a fragment of the column to which Jesus was tied for the flagellation. The “Column of Flagellation” is kept in a reliquary of gilded bronze and appears variously carved due to small fragments used as relics in times past.

The column of the flagellation of Christ

Christ bound to the column: an image

The urn beneath the entrance lintel of the Chapel of St. Zenone contains the bones of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. The long marble table placed to the left of the nave served as a bed for the saint who slept there as penance.

The urn with the bones of St Valentine

The burials are also noteworthy, including that of Monsignor Santoni, whose bust is said to be the first work of Bernini, who supposedly sculpted it at the age of just ten. Two beautiful flights of ancient red steps lead to the main altar. These steps caught the fancy of Napoleon’s emissaries, who ordered their removal and transportation to Paris to become the steps of his imperial throne. Fortunately, the project went up in smoke.

But that’s not all. Santa Prassede is also significant for the presence of the Olgiati Chapel, a work of Cavalier d’Arpino, master of Caravaggio, and for a 14th-century crucifix in the crypt, which inspired Saint Bridget of Sweden. The church was also a privileged place of prayer for Saint Charles Borromeo.

History and Architectural Features

The church, founded in the 9th century by Pope Paschal I (817-824) on the ancient “titulus Praxaedis” from the end of the 5th century, underwent various restorations in the 15th, 17th and 19th centuries, which somewhat altered its original character. However, the building still retains its medieval structure in the access porch located along via di S.Martino ai Monti, which leads, after a long staircase, into a courtyard in which the simple brick façade of the church stands, according to the original design wanted by Pasquale I. The courtyard preserves the remains of a colonnade with Corinthian capitals which probably belonged to the 5th century basilica. Access to the church is also through a side entrance on via di S.Prassede.

The Facade fo Basilica

The interior was originally composed of three naves divided by 12 straight entablature granite columns; later, six of these were reduced to pillars. In the center of the Cosmatesque floor, a porphyry disk covers the well in which the saint collected the remains and blood of the martyrs (2.300 people), making the church one of the most venerated in Rome.

Cosmatesque Floor

Byzantine artists adorned the church with golden mosaics: those in the apse and choir depict ancestors in white robes, lambs, palm trees and red poppies. In the apse, St. Prassede and St. Pudenziana stand on either side of Christ. St. Paul and St. Peter embrace them. In the crypt, inside two sealed sarcophagi, lie the relics of the two saints.

The Crypt

In the middle of the right aisle is the Chapel of St. Zenone, one of the most important Byzantine monuments in Rome, erected by Paschal I as the mausoleum of his mother, Theodora. Two black granite columns and a rich curved frame support an ash urn containing the remains of Zenone, a priest and martyr. The interior of the chapel is entirely covered in mosaics and it is so dazzling that it has been called “the Garden of Paradise.” The mosaics depict figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Prassede, and the bishop Theodora with the square nimbus of the living.

The Chapel of St. Zenone

The bell tower, located at the southern end of the left transept arm of the church, is also beautiful. Its construction dates back to the late 11th century and the early decades of the following century. Rectangular in shape, the bell tower rises with a single floor marked by a pair of bifores resting on marble columns with capitals as supports. Inside, two bells from 1621 are in operation.

The entrance is free

Opening hours 10-12; 16-18.30