Rome
Area Sacra dell'Argentina, with the foundations of ancient temples, in the heart of Rome. Photo © Sacred Destinations.
Rome, the "Eternal City," has been a sacred place and internationally important city since ancient times. Rome's history extends nearly 2,800 years, during which time it has been the seat of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Republic. The first known temple in Rome was built around 575 BC. A Jewish community was established in Rome in 161 BC and remains active today. Christians arrived in the 1st century AD, and Rome has been the center of Catholic Christianity ever since. Rome's abundance of ancient temples, synagogues, churches and shrines make it one of the best cities to explore the holy places of a variety of religious traditions.
Travel Resources for Rome
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See our Rome Map for a closer view. |
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Religious Attractions in Rome
 This triumphal arch is an important monument of religious history: it celebrates Constantine's victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, which led to his Christian conversion.  Located near the entrance to the imperial Forum, this arch contains a relief depicting the destruction and looting of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.  The most sacred of the seven hills in Rome, Capitoline Hill once hosted a great temple. Today it is home to the Capitoline Museum, with temple ruins and classical sculptures.  First excavated in the 2nd century, the Catacomb of San Callisto consists of five levels of galleries on the Via Appia. It was the official burial place of the 3rd-century popes.  The magnificent Roman Colosseum has long been considered sacred because of its legendary association with early Christian martyrs.  A small chapel on the Appian Way, this marks the spot where St. Peter, fleeing persecution, saw the risen Christ and asked, Domine quo vadis? ("Lord, where are you going?").  There are eight ancient Egyptian obelisks in Rome, taken from Egyptian temples by Roman emperors to use as impressive decorations in their capital city.  This huge and magnificent synagogue dates from 1904, after King Victor Emmanuel II granted the Jews of Rome full citizenship. It includes an excellent Jewish museum.  This huge and very Baroque church is the headquarters of the Jesuits and has served as the model for Jesuit churches everywhere. The tomb of St. Ignatius, the order's founder, is topped by the largest piece of lapis lazuli in existence.  Occupying an entire city block, the "Sacred Area" contains the ruins of four temples from the Republican era (3rd-2nd century BC) and a lot of happy cats snoozing in the grass.  Located on the Capitoline Hill above the Forum, this ancient prison is where St. Peter and Paul are said to have been held before their execution in Rome.  This magnificent ancient temple was built by Emperor Hadrian in 125 AD and converted into a church in 609. It is the oldest intact ancient building in Rome.  This lovely 12th-century basilica stands over two previous sacred buildings: a church built in 392 and a 2nd-century Mithraic cave temple.  Also known as the Lateran Baptistery, this octagonal structure is the oldest baptistery in the world, built by Constantine in 315 AD.  Dedicated to both John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome and one of its four major basilicas. It includes a fine 13th-century cloister.  This major pilgrimage basilica features a columned portico, 6th-century mosaic, catacombs, and lovely 12th-century cloister. It is dedicated to Lawrence, who was martyred by roasting on a gridiron.  Standing alongside a busy road, San Nicola in Carcere is an interesting little church that incorporates the ruins of a Roman forum and its temples. Excavations can be explored in the crypt.  This spectacular major basilica shelters the bones of the Apostle Paul. It also boasts beautiful cloisters, a huge collection of artifacts discovered nearby, and a museum.  A church housing the venerated chains that held St. Peter while he was imprisoned in Rome before being freed by an angel.  Dedicated to a young woman martyred in 303 AD, this church was built by Constantine and rebuilt in the 7th century. It has a Byzantine apse mosaic and crowd-free catacombs.  This church and active convent was built in the 9th century over the house of St. Cecilia, a 3rd-century martyr. It has a Byzantine apse mosaic upstairs and Roman excavations below.  This little round church was built c.360 AD to house the tombs of Constantine's daughter and sister. Its ceilings are covered in some of the earliest Christian mosaics in the world.  Too often overlooked by non-pilgrims, this basilica near St. John Lateran includes the private chapel of St. Helen (Constantine's mother) and displays impressive relics from the Holy Land.  This interesting basilica incorporates the remains of the extensive Baths of Diocletian. Inside are works of medieval and modern art and an astronomical gnomon.  A 15th-century church filled with Renaissance and Baroque art by masters such as Raphael, Caravaggio, and Bernini.  Located at the summit of the Capitoline Hill, this is the official church of the Senate and the Roman People.  Best known for the "Mouth of Truth" in the porch, this is one of the most interesting churches in Rome, with important medieval art and an atmosphere of antiquity.  Built on the site of a house-church, Santa Maria in Domnica dates from the 9th century and contains a fine apse mosaic from the same period.  This church is held to be the first place of Christian worship in Rome, built where a fountain of oil sprung up on the day of Christ's birth. Inside are many excellent mosaics.  Built on the site of a miraculous snowfall, this major basilica dates from 420 AD. The huge church is lined with Byzantine mosaics and contains many important relics.  Said to be Rome's only Gothic church, this 13th-century basilica was built over a temple to Minerva. It contains many art treasures and the venerated tomb of St. Catherine of Siena.  A hidden gem near Santa Maria Maggiore, this 9th-century basilica has glorious Byzantine mosaics. Also here is a piece of the scourging column of Christ and other relics.  This ancient church dedicated to the sister of Santa Prassede is the national church of the Philippines and contains the oldest Christian mosaic in Rome (c.390 AD).  Santa Sabina is Rome's best surviving example of an early Christian church. It dates from 422, including its carved wooden doors with biblical scenes.  This ancient church in the Imperial Forum contains ruins of a Roman temple (overlooked through a glass wall in the back) and some wonderful early Christian mosaics in the apse.  Built in the 4th century and restored in the 5th and 11th centuries, the Church of Sts. John and Paul has Roman ruins that can be explored beneath its floors.  Founded in the 4th or 5th century and rebuilt in the 11th, the church of the "Four Crowned Ones" contains interesting fragments of ancient art and architecture.  Dedicated to St. Stephen, the first martyr, this is one of the largest and oldest round churches in existence. Dating from the 5th century, it reflects local and foreign influences.  This world-famous chapel painted by Michelangelo is still used for papal elections. Explore a complete photo gallery of its art as part of our article on the Sistine Chapel.  For Roman Catholics, St. Peter's is the most sacred site after the Holy Land. It centers around the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle and is one of the largest churches in the world.  Begun in 141 AD, this imperial temple in the Forum was later made into a church.  This ancient Roman temple was founded in 484 BC but rebuilt in 6 AD. Today the podium, three columns and an architrave stand in the Imperial Forum.  This small, round temple next to Santa Maria in Cosmedin dates from the 2nd century BC.  The focus of the Saturnalia festival, the Temple of Saturn in the Forum was erected in 497 BC and rebuilt in 380 AD.  The Vatican Museums are among the best in the world, with treasures including classical sculptures, early Christian artifacts, Egyptian mummies and Renaissance masterpieces. |
For thumbnail photo credits, please see corresponding articles.
