Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome
The church and active convent of Santa Cecilia in Trastavere stands on the site of the home of St. Cecilia, who, along with her husband Valerian, was martyred in the 2nd century. Her body was found incorrupt in 1599, complete with deep axe cuts in her neck; a statue under the altar depicts the way it was found. The church contains a celebrated 13th-century fresco of The Last Judgment by Pietro Cavallini and in the crypt you can tour her Roman house.
History
Cecilia is one of the most popular of Roman saints. She was a patrician woman from a senatorial family who took a personal vow of virginity and pledged her life to God. But this didn't stop her parents from marrying her off to Valerian of Trastavere. It is said that as her wedding music was being played, in her heart was singing hymns to Jesus, her true spouse.
According to a 5th-century account, Cecilia told her new husband on their wedding night of her pledge of virginity, claiming that an angel guarded her body. Naturally, he asked to see the angel, and Cecilia replied that he could see it after he was purified. He was therefore baptized by Pope Urbanus and afterwards was able to see the angel accompanying her.
Valerian was converted, as soon his brother was as well. The two men began a ministry of giving generous alms to the poor and proper burial to martyred Christians. Eventually the brothers were themselves executed for refusing to worship the Roman gods.
After burying her husband and his brother, Cecilia was persecuted as well. According to the story, St. Cecilia was locked in the caldarium of her own baths for several days, but she refused to die. In fact, she sang her way through the entire ordeal (Cecilia is the patron saint of music). In the end, her head was hacked off with an axe, but even this took several blows before she succumbed. Her death is dated to around 117 AD; the Acts of Cecilia's martyrdom were written in the 5th century.
St. Cecilia's grave was discovered in 817, and her body was transferred to the Church of Saint Cecilia. Her tomb was opened in 1599 and her body found to be incorrupt and with three axe cuts in her neck.
The church's facade was added by Ferdinando Fuga in 1725.
What to See
Part of a cloistered and still-functioning convent with a fine garden, the church of Santa Cecilia contains The Last Judgment by Pietro Cavallini (c. 1293), a masterpiece of Roman medieval painting. Another treasure is a late-13th-century baldachino by Arnolfo di Cambio over the altar.
Below the high altar is a moving sculpture by Stefano Maderno of Cecilia's incorrupt body as it was found when exhumed in 1599. Twisted and yet graceful, the statue is an intensely human work of art.
The church is built on the reputed site of Cecilia's 2nd-century home and you can tour the excavated baths and the rest of the Roman house in the crypt.
Quick Facts
| Address: | Piazza Santa Cecilia 2 |
| Phone: | 06-5899289 |
| Bus: | 44, 75, 170, or 181 |
| Hours: | Main church and excavations: daily 9:30am-12:30pm and 4-6:30pm; frescoes: Mon-Sat 10:15am-12:15pm, Sun 11:15am-12:15pm |
| Cost: | Church: free Cavallini frescoes (in the singing gallery above the nave): 2.50€ Excavations: 2.50€ |
- Reviews of the Church of Santa Cecilia - TripAdvisor
- Santa Cecilia in Trastavere - Churches of Rome
- Cecilia - Patron Saints Index
- St. Cecilia - Catholic Encyclopedia
