Part of the statues on top of the Basilica of Saint John in the Lateran, picture by annaklein sourced from Pixabay
Rome is, of course, the home to St. Peter’s Basilica. Everyone knows it, everyone can recognize it when they see a picture of it: after all, it’s one of the top ten things to do when visiting the Eternal City! And yet, very few people seem to know that the symbol of the Vatican is far from being the only basilica in town! Unusual, right?
What is a basilica, anyway?
Think of a basilica like the most important type of church there is. The name comes from the ancient Greek and was used to indicate those public buildings that were big enough to gather huge crowds, so initially a basilica was simply… any large temple.
There is a difference between major and minor basilicas: there are 4 major basilicas in the world, all of which are located in Rome, whereas there are over 1,000 thousand minor basilicas – the city has 62 of those.
St. Peter’s is merely one of the four major basilicas, which means there are 3 more that are as important… and usually they don’t get as much love! In this post I included Rome’s most interesting and unusual basilicas. With a disclaimer…
Why visiting a basilica is such a big deal?
Enjoy art for free inside Rome’s churches! Picture by Dmitry Bayer, sourced from Unsplash
I guess it all boils down to being from different cultures, however when I meet foreign travelers, many can’t really understand why – as Italians – we insist so much on tourists visiting churches. It might come as a surprise that it’s not so much about religion or spirituality, rather than… art, economy, society and history.
Because you see, some of the basilicas are built over ancient temples or other Roman buildings – they have literally stood out the test of time and have been around for over 2,000 years.
Basilicas can tell you what life was like for people when they were first erected, and how Rome became more and more powerful (therefore, richer!) as centuries went on: for example the original design for many of these churches was gradually embellished with stuccoes, precious mosaics…
Some churches hold artifacts older than they are, and a huge amount of those in Rome contain art from major names, from Bernini to Raphael, from Caravaggio to Michelangelo.
Therefore, visiting a basilica or a church is like going into a museum. And the upside? Access to the main area of every church is always free of charge in Rome! A ticket, where applicable, will only have to be paid for accessing separate parts of these buildings – like roofs, cloisters underground levels or museums within the churches proper. And that is entirely optional.
So, without further ado, here are the most unusual basilicas of Rome!
1. San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John in the Lateran)
St. John in the Lateran is also the cathedral of Rome. Picture by Tango7174, sourced from Wikimedia Commons
Older than St. Peter’s, this amazing place is one of the 4 major basilicas of Rome and was built by none other than Emperor Constantine. Not that we can see any of the original structure, as it burned down… twice.
Interesting factoid: at the time of both fires, the Popes were residing in Avignon, France, but this church, not St. Peter’s, was the actual Holy See.
When the Papacy moved back to Rome, this basilica was deemed so unsalvageable that the Popes first relocated to Santa Maria in Trastevere and later on to Santa Maria Maggiore, before finally settling in the newly rebuilt St. Peter’s.
I say “newly rebuilt” because St. Peter’s had also deteriorated considerably at the time: when visiting all basilicas, keep in mind that what you’re seeing is really the most recent restoration for the building (for most churches, this has happened during the 17th or 18th centuries).
Address: Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano (subway stop: san giovanni). Opens daily between 7 AM and 630 PM.
2. San Paolo fuori le mura (St. Paul outside the Walls)
The central nave at the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, picture by loveombra sourced from Pixabay
Impressed by the size of St. John in the Lateran? Prepare to be blown away by San Paolo! This basilica is named “outside the walls” because there are two similarly named ones in the center of the city. This one is, indeed, outside of the Aurelian Walls, Rome’s mighty line of defense.
Anyway, you will see why it’s impossible to mistake one for the others: the Ostiense-based San Paolo not only has a subway stop named after itself, but it is the second biggest basilica in Rome – after St. Peter’s, of course!
It must be said that it seems much bigger, because of the modest number of tourists who get around to visit it (some don’t even know it exists!).
St. Paul outside the Walls is named after the Christian martyr, who was beheaded and buried in the fields where the basilica now stands. The alleged tombstone is placed right under one of the church’s altars.
The most impressive thing, to me, about St. Paul’s, is the gallery of every pope that ever was. Every single one of them has his own portrait. Including, of course, Pope Francis. However, there are just a handful of free spots after the portraits of the current Pontiff.
So, what is going to happen when there is no space left for any more papal portrait? No one seems to know the answer to this question!
Address: Piazzale San Paolo, 1 (subway stop: basilica san paolo). Opens daily between 7AM and 630 PM.
3. Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major)
The front of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, picture by Jensjunge sourced from Pixabay
On the night of August 5th, during the pontificate of Liberius (the pope between 353 and 366 CE), a wealthy man called John, who had no heirs, was praying the Holy Mother to send him a sign over what to do with his possessions. Right then, it started snowing over the Esquiline hill: so John decided to build a church where the snow was falling.
This is the unusual legend behind the construction of this basilica, around the corner from the train station at Roma Termini. Because snow was involved in its origins, St. Mary Major is also known as Our Lady of the Snows, and also because of it, every year on August 5th the miracle is repeated by throwing white petals over the congregation.
This is the basilica with the highest bell tower in Rome, and it houses the remnants of the famous crib scene by artist Arnolfo di Cambio, which was destroyed to build a little something called… the Sistine Chapel!
Address: Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore (roma termini). Opens daily between 7 AM and 630 PM.
4. Santa Prassede (Saint Praxedes)
The Basilica of Saint Praxedes has two separate façade: this is the second one! Picture by Mari27454, sourced from Wikimedia Commons
Just a few hundred meters from St. Mary Major, this smaller church is wildly different from the previous basilicas I’ve mentioned. It’s not necessarily older than the other buildings in this post – in fact, it is more recent, having been built originally around 780 CE.
However, whereas other basilicas have been restored and adapted to later architectural styles, the exterior of Saint Praxedes has mostly stayed the same, and is simpler and more modest.
Saint Praxedes was the sister of another Christian martyr, Saint Pudenziana: each has a basilica named after them (both in the same area), which I find somehow sweet.
The oratory of Saint Zeno, inside the basilica, contains one of Rome’s only mosaics in a Bizantyne style – very much an influence in southern Italy, they are rarely present in the city and they are very much different from the religious art seen elsewhere.
Address: Via di Santa Prassede, 9/a (Monti district). Opens daily from 7.30 AM to 12 noon, and from 3 PM to 6.30 PM.
5. Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Holy Cross in Jerusalem)
The interior of the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, picture by Livioandronico2013 sourced from Wikimedia Commons
Within walking distance from St. John in the Lateran, this astounding church has also ties with Emperor Constantine (and with at least other two emperors!).
It is built around the prayer room which belonged to Helena, Constantine’s mother, who was a devout christian and brought many relics and objects tied to the death of Jesus back to Rome from Jerusalem (the most impressive of which, the Scala Sancta, is a whole staircase now located walking distance from this basilica).
Something else Saint Helena brought back with her was quite an amount of soil from the Holy Land. So the basilica is called “in Jerusalem” because it is literally built over the ground from that city. Talk about unusual!
As for the stones used for the construction of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, they were taken right out of a temple to Sol Invictus, a deity worshipped by disgraced Emperor Elagabalus of the Severan dynasty, as well as from a massive complex of circuses, amphiteaters and an imperial villa belonging to his predecessor Septimius Severus.
When you visit the basilica now it’s difficult to recognize what was once there, but a peek through a gate to the left of the church will reveal a vegetable garden created on the unmistakably round-shaped arena floor of a former amphitheater (called Amphitheatrum Castrense).
The basilica was at the center of a recent scandal: the abbey joined to the church was suppressed by a Papal decree when it was discovered that the monks were living rather unmodestly – their living quarters, gardens and orchard have been closed since 2011. Too bad, because the underground levels of the garden still retain the bones of the wild animals used to entertain the Severan emperors!
Also of note in a city where most churches belong to the Vatican, this particular basilica is, in turn, owned by the Italian government since it was “conquered” in 1870 – it was never given back to the Pope.
Address: Piazza di S. Croce in Gerusalemme (subway stop: san giovanni/manzoni). Opens daily from 7.30 AM to 12:45 PM, and from 3.30 PM to 7.30 PM.
6. San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains)
A detail of Michelangelo’s Moses at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains, picture by LoggaWiggler sourced from Pixabay
The tradition of burying popes in the Vatican is a relatively modern one, and in the past Pontiffs could be buried in any church. Case in point: this unassuming basilica on top of the Oppian Hill, by the Colosseum, is the tomb of Pope Julius II, who famously commissioned the Sistine Chapel to Michelangelo and created the Swiss Guard.
From the outside, the church looks like a simple portico and it’s “monumental” at most. In fact, the biggest attraction might be the vined stairway that leads to the church from Via Cavour. The surprise is inside, where the famous Moses by Michelangelo itself stands for everyone to admire – the great artist’s memorial to Julius II.
The basilica owes its unusual name to the chains preserved as a relic beneath the altar – said to have been worn by Saint Peter, they came to Rome as a gift to then Pope Leo I in the 5th century CE.
If you go visit and are surprised by the noise and number of students right outside, know that part of the church complex used to be a convent, which has been turned into classrooms for the faculty of Engineering for the La Sapienza University.
Address: Piazza di San Pietro in Vincoli, 4/a (subway stop: cavour/colosseo). Opens daily from 8 AM to 12:30 PM and from 3 PM to 7 PM.
7. Santi Pietro e Paolo a Via Ostiense (Saint Peter and Paul on the Via Ostiense)
At a glance: the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul in the EUR district, picture by Blackcat sourced from Wikimedia Commons
In a city known for its ancient churches and monuments, it’s not at all unusual to have a contemporary style basilica.
Quite the opposite, in fact: while Rome’s visitors mostly stick to the more central areas of the Urbs Aeterna, locals live on what is right around those, so as compared to the heavily preserved buildings there, they have more modern houses & infrastructure.
EUR, for instance, is a sprawling borough imagined by none other than Mussolini as the location for the 1942 World Fair – which never took place because of WWII!
The original project came to be heavily modified after the end of the war, to include a business district, a sports complex for the Olympics that were held in Rome later on, in 1960, and housing – and that’s where this big, modern basilica fits in.
Its floorplan is inspired by the shape of the Greek Cross, as well as the original ideas for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican by Michelangelo. No less than six different big name architects worked on the project, which was completed in 1955.
Address: Piazzale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo, 8 (EUR DISTRICT). Opens daily from 9 AM to 5 PM.
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A journalist by trade and a linguist by inclination (her favourite Roman expression is “a ufo” - ask her about it), Chiara has been living in Rome for most of her adult life. In the city, she loves to ride on remote bus lines, be on the lookout for new and authentic eateries and take pictures of empty landmarks (a tough one!).
A journalist by trade and a linguist by inclination (her favourite Roman expression is “a ufo” - ask her about it), Chiara has been living in Rome for most of her adult life. In the city, she loves to ride on remote bus lines, be on the lookout for new and authentic eateries and take pictures of empty landmarks (a tough one!).
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