Santa Anastasia is a basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 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...

, Italy.

Santa Anastasia was built in the late 3rd century - early 4th century, possibly by a Roman woman named Anastasia. The church is listed under the titulus Anastasiae in the acts of the 499 synod. Later the church was entitled to the martyr with the same name, Anastasia of Sirmium.

The church was restored several times: Pope Damasus I

Pope Damasus I

Pope Saint Damasus I was the bishop of Rome from 366 to 384.He was born around 305, probably near the city of Idanha-a-Velha , in what is present-day Portugal, then part of the Western Roman Empire...

 (366-383), Pope Hilarius

Pope Hilarius

Pope Saint Hilarius was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 461 to February 28, 468. He was canonized as a saint after his death....

 (461-468), Pope John VII

Pope John VII

Pope John VII was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.-Biography:...

 (705-707), Pope Leo III

Pope Leo III

Pope Saint Leo III was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor....

 (795-816), and Pope Gregory IV

Pope Gregory IV

Pope Gregory IV was chosen to succeed Valentine in December 827, on which occasion he recognized the supremacy of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious in the most unequivocal manner....

 (827-844). The current church dates back to the 17th century restoration commissioned by Pope Urban VII

Pope Urban VII

Pope Urban VII , born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was Pope for thirteen days in September 1590. He was of Genoese origin, although born in Rome. He was created Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello in 1584...

.

Traditionally, the church is connected to the cult of St Jerome, who possibly celebrated mass here. The saint is depicted over the altar, by Domenichino.

The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Anastasiae is Godfried Danneels. Past holders have included John Morton, an Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

.

Art and architecture

The last restoration, after the restoration during the papacy of Sixtus IV, occurred in 1636, when the facade, with lower doric and upper ionic order, was reconstructed in 1636, after the cyclone of 1634. The nave recycles antique columns. The ceiling is frescoed with a martyrdom of the saints (1722) by Michelangelo Cerruti

Michelangelo Cerruti

Michelangelo Cerruti was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.At a young age, he was a pupil of Giuseppe Passeri in Rome and afterwards lived for a decade in northern Italy, especially in Turin. After returning to Rome he worked with Andrea Pozzo, and became an expert...

.

The chapel to the right, has a painting of St. John the Baptist by Pier Francesco Mola

Pier Francesco Mola

Pier Francesco Mola was an Italian painter of the High Baroque, mainly active around Rome.-Biography:Mola was born at Coldrerio . At the age of four, he moved to Rome with his father Giovanni Battista, a painter...

. While the last chapel on the right has a fresco of Scenes of the life of Saints Carlo Borromeo and Filippo Neri by Lazzaro Baldi

Lazzaro Baldi

Lazzaro Baldi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.-Biography:Baldi was born in Pistoia and died in Rome. He was part of the large studio of Pietro da Cortona, and became adept at fresco technique. He painted a David and Goliath for Alexander VII in the Palazzo...

. The right transept has a painting of S.Toribio (1726) by Francesco Trevisani

Francesco Trevisani

thumb|250px|Portrait of [[Pietro Ottoboni |Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni]] by Francesco Trevisani. The [[Bowes Museum]], [[Barnard Castle]], [[County Durham]], [[England]]....

. The high altar has a Nativity by Lazzaro Baldi

Lazzaro Baldi

Lazzaro Baldi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.-Biography:Baldi was born in Pistoia and died in Rome. He was part of the large studio of Pietro da Cortona, and became adept at fresco technique. He painted a David and Goliath for Alexander VII in the Palazzo...

 and below the altar is a statue of Saint Anastasia by Ercole Ferrata

Ercole Ferrata

Ercole Ferrata was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque.-Biography:A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants...

. It clearly shows the influence of Bernini's Beata Ludovica Albertoni

Beata Ludovica Albertoni

The "Beata Ludovica Albertoni" is a funerary monument in the specially designed Altieri Chapel in the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere, Rome, Italy....

. The left transept has a Madonna of the Rosary by Baldi. The last chapel to the left, by Domenichino depicts a St. Jerome. The other chapel has a Ss.Giorgio e Publio by Etienne Parrocel.