The Basilica of Sts. Vitalis, Valeris, Gervase and Protase is a titular minor basilica

Minor basilica

Minor basilica is a title given to some Roman Catholic churches. By canon law no Catholic church can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom....

 church in

Churches of Rome

There are more than 900 churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.The first churches of Rome originated in places where Christians met. They were divided into three categories:...

 Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. The Roman Catholic church is commonly named Basilica di San Vitale. The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Vitalis is Adam Maida.

History

The basilica was built in 400, and consecrated by Pope Innocent I

Pope Innocent I

-Biography:He was, according to his biographer in the Liber Pontificalis, the son of a man called Innocens of Albano; but according to his contemporary Jerome, his father was Pope Anastasius I , whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy and laity to succeed -Biography:He was,...

 in 401/402. The dedication to St. Vitalis

Vitalis of Milan

Saint Vitalis of Milan, known as San Vitale in Italian and Saint Vital in French, was an early Christian martyr.-Biography:Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier. He was married to Saint Valeria, and they were the parents of the perhaps legendary Saints Gervasius and Protasius...

 and his family (Saint Valeria, his wife, and Sts. Gervasius and Protasius

Gervasius and Protasius

Saints Gervasius and Protasius are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century....

, their sons) is dated to 412

412

Year 412 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius...

. This church is recorded as Titulus Vestinae in the acts of the 499 synod of Pope Symmachus

Pope Symmachus

Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome....

, and three presbyters are listed.

San Vitale was restored several times, the most important being the rebuilding by Pope Sixtus IV

Pope Sixtus IV

Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...

 before the Jubilee of 1475, and then in 1598, 1938 and 1960. The church is currently located several metres under the level of the street (via Nazionale

Via Nazionale (Rome)

Via Nazionale is a street in Rome from Piazza della Repubblica leading towards Piazza Venezia.Already begun as via Pia, named in honour of Pius IX, who had wanted to connect Stazione Termini to the city-centre, the street was completed at the end of the 19th century through the ambition of several...

), that it faces.

Exterior

The portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

 is the most ancient part of the church, possibly dating back to the 5th century. It was altered at the end of the 16th century. The inscription on the portico, with the arms of Pope Sixtus IV, dates from this time. Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

 built the staircase to the 5th century portico in 1859.

Interior

The church has a single nave, with walls frescoed with scenes of martyrdom, among which a Martyrdom of St Ignatius of Antioch, in which a ruined Colosseum

Colosseum

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...

 is depicted.

The apsis, original of the 5th century, is decorated with a fresco by Andrea Commodi

Andrea Commodi

Andrea Commodi was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period. Born in Florence, but mostly active in Rome, he was a pupil of the painter Cigoli. He painted frescoes in the sacristy of San Carlo ai Catinari and a Fall of the Angels now in the Accademia gallery in Florence...

, The Ascent to Calvary.

Cardinal Priest of the Basilica di San Vitale

Among the previous titulars, Gennaro Cesio, appointed in 494

494

Year 494 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufius and Praesidius...

 by Pope Gelasius I

Pope Gelasius I

Pope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last bishop of Rome of African origin in the Catholic Church. Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages...

, and St. John Fisher

John Fisher

Saint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...

, martyred in 1535 by Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Vitalis is Adam Maida.

Free bread was distributed to the poor by the church according to the will of a Roman nobleman, Francesco Silla.

External links

• Official website of the Basilica di San Vitale