San Martino ai Monti
San Martino ai Monti, also known as Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti - Titolo Equizio, is a basilica church in Rome, in the Rione Monti neighbourhood.
The basilica was founded by Pope St. Sylvester I over a terrain donated by one Equitius (since the name of Titulus Equitii) in the 4th century. At the beginning it was an oratory devoted to all the martyrs. It is known that a preparation meeting for the Council of Nicaea was held here in 324. The current church of San Martino ai Monti is dates from the Carolingian era, but a 3rd century pillared hall has been located below and adjacent to the later church. This has caused some scholars to identify it with the Titulus Equitii, but according to Hugo Brandenburg, it is "most unlikely that it could have served as a place of worship for any larger community and its liturgy: The original purpose of this fairly modest hall...was probably to serve as a storage space for commerical purposes."
In 500, the church was rebuilt and dedicated to Saints Martin of Tours and Pope Sylvester I by Pope Symmachus. In this occasion, the church was elevated and the first oratory become subterranean.
It was reconstructed by Hadrian I in 772 and by Sergius II in 845. The structure of the present basilica follows the ancient church, and many pieces had been re-used.
Further transformations were executed in the 17th century by Filippo Gagliardi.
The interior has three naves with ancient columns. A votive lamp, made in silver sheet, is housed in the sacristy; It was believed to be the St. Sylvester's tiara. Under the major altar are preserved the relics of Sts Artemius, Paulina and Sisinnius, brought here from the Catacombs of St. Priscilla. A mosaic portraying Madonna with St. Sylvester is from the 6th century.
The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus Ss. Silvestri et Martini in Montibus is Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra. Among the previous titulars, Pope Pius XI, Pope Paul VI, and Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar.
External links
Media related to San Martino ai Monti at Wikimedia Commons
References
- Ancient Churches of Rome from the Fourth to the Seventh Century: The Dawn of Christian Architecture in the West, by Hugo Brandenburg, Brepols, 2005.
- Le chiese medievali di Roma, by Federico Gizzi, Newton Compton, Rome, 1994
- "San Martino ai Monti", by Chris Nyborg.