Basilica di San Sebastiano fuori le Mura

San Sebastiano fuori le Mura stands on the Appian Way above catacombs associated with the origin of the word “catacomb.” The basilica preserves the memory of Peter and Paul, a final bust attributed to Bernini and relics linked by tradition to the Domine quo Vadis story.

Why it matters

The Appia Antica archaeological park explains that this area was called ad catacumbas, near cavities left by pozzolana quarries; the name later came to designate underground Christian cemeteries. The basilica, first dedicated as Basilica Apostolorum in the early fourth century, preserves an ancient tradition connecting the apostles Peter and Paul with this site. It also stands above the burial place associated with Saint Sebastian, a soldier martyred in the early fourth century.

What to notice

The three-arched façade of 1613 combines Ionic columns and upper pilasters. Giovanni Vasanzio completed a project begun in 1608 by Flaminio Ponzio for Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The carved wooden ceiling bears the Borghese arms alongside those of Gregory XVI, who restored the church in the nineteenth century. The Salvator Mundi bust in a nave niche is traditionally treated as Bernini's final work. The Chapel of Relics, arranged in 1625, contains objects associated with the Domine quo Vadis episode, as well as a relic associated with Saint Sebastian's martyrdom. The Chapel of Saint Sebastian, designed by Ciro Ferri in 1672, includes Antonio Giorgetti's recumbent statue, modelled on a design by Bernini. The Albani family's Blessed Sacrament chapel dates from 1706–1712 and was frescoed by Pier Leone Ghezzi and Giuseppe Passeri. Beneath the basilica are catacombs and painted rooms of the Roman Villa Grande, including a maritime landscape and a Greek graffito.

Context and history

The basilica was built in the first half of the fourth century above an earlier sanctuary associated with the apostles and the burial place of Sebastian. By the fifth century its dedication had shifted to Sebastian. His remains were transferred to Saint Peter's in 826 amid fears of Saracen raids and returned by Pope Honorius III in 1218. Cardinal Scipione Borghese replaced the medieval church: Ponzio began the new basilica in 1608, Vasanzio continued it and the façade was completed in 1613. Gregory XVI's restoration added the second set of arms on the ceiling. The site remains an important expression of Rome's apostolic and martyrological traditions.