Basilica Cattedrale di Sant’Agapito Martire

Palestrina's cathedral stands in the area of the ancient forum, incorporating remains of a Roman temple of Jupiter. Its interior holds Baroque paintings, a Renaissance portal and a crypt associated with the town's early martyrs.

Why it matters

The Basilica-Cathedral of Sant'Agapito is the seat of the suburbicarian see of Palestrina. The municipality dates its construction to 1117 and records that it incorporated the Roman temple; a crypt dedicated to the local martyrs Agapito, Gordiano and Abbondio dates to 1116. The church's history also reflects the city's violent conflicts: it was sacked in 1437–38 and the saints' relics were taken away.

What to notice

The marble portal and bell tower preserve features of the Romanesque church. The sixteenth-century portal bears the arms of a Della Rovere cardinal and the Colonna family. Inside, three aisles lead to the Colonna chapel, where Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta's Crucifixion remains. Other works include Sant'Agapito among the Lions by Andrea Camassei, the Beheading of the Saint by Carlo Saraceni and an Annunciation by Carlo Maratta. The apse has late-nineteenth-century frescoes by Domenico Bruschi. In the crypt, excavations in 1974 uncovered a medieval reliquary chest associated with the three saints.

Context and history

Relics of Saint Agapitus were translated to the site by 898. The medieval rebuilding of 1117 incorporated the earlier temple, and the Romanesque facade, bell tower and crypt survive from that phase. During the conflict between the papacy and the Colonna, Palestrina was destroyed in 1437–38 and the relics were removed; they returned in the following century. A late-nineteenth-century renovation gave the interior much of its present appearance.