| Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio | |
|---|---|
| Basilica of Saints Boniface and Alexius on the Aventine Hill | |
| Sant'Alessio all'Aventino | |
Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e Alessio | |
 Exterior | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°53′01″N12°28′44″E / 41.883647°N 12.478847°E /41.883647; 12.478847 | |
| Location | Piazza Sant’Alessio 23,Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Tradition | Roman Rite |
| Religious order | Somaschi Fathers |
| Website | santalessiocrs |
| History | |
| Status | titular church,minor basilica |
| Founded | 4th century |
| Dedication | Boniface of Tarsus andAlexius of Rome |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Giambattista Nolli, Tommaso De Marchis |
| Architectural type | Baroque,Romanesque |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Rome |
TheBasilica dei Santi Bonifacio e(d) Alessio is abasilica,rectory church served by theSomaschans, andtitular church for acardinal-priest on theAventine Hill in the third prefecture of centralRome, Italy.
It is dedicated toSaint Boniface of Tarsus andSaint Alexius, the former the original and the latter added in the 10th century. It lies on Piazza Sant’Alessio 23, near the historical gardens of St. Alexius and Via di santa Sabina.
Founded between the 3rd and 4th centuries, it was restored in 1216 byPope Honorius III (some columns of his building survive in the present building's eastern apse); in 1582; in 1743 designed byGiovanni Battista Nolli and in the 1750s reelaborated by Tommaso De Marchis (his main altar survives); and between 1852 and 1860 by theSomaschi Fathers, who still serve it as a rectory church. The 16th century style façade, elaborated from the De Marchis phase, is built onto the medieval-stylequadriportico.
The church has aRomanesquecampanile. On the south side of the nave is the funerary monument Eleonora BoncompagniBorghese of 1693, to a design of Giovan Contini Batiste, and in the south transept the Chapel ofCharles IV of Spain, with the iconMadonna di sant'Alessio, anEdessa icon of theIntercession of theMadonna dating from the 12-13th centuries, thought to have been painted bySt Luke the Evangelist and brought from the East bySt Alexius. The church also contains the tombstone of PeterSavelli (of the same family as Pope Honorius III).
In a Romanesquecrypt that survives below the church, the main altar contains relics ofSt Thomas of Canterbury. The crypt's 12th-century wall of frescoes depicts theAgnus Dei and symbols of theFour Evangelists, and on the north aisleSt Gerolamo Emiliani introducing orphans to the Virgin byJean Francois De Troy, and at the end of the aisleThe Holy Steps and the titular church of Saint Alexius in wood and stucco byAndrea Bergondi.
Connected to the basilica are the buildings of the formerBenedictine monastery, which accepted theCamaldolese reforms ofSt. Romuald in the 10th century. The buildings now belong to the Italian state.
In 2015,[1] and again on 29 June 2019, the discovery of a medieval fresco in an exceptional state of preservation and integrity was noticed by the Italian press. The painting has been restored and its subject has been identified by the Italian art historian Claudia Viggiani with Christ the Pilgrim.[2][3][4] The fresco was firstly discovered in 1965 by the Italian Genio Civile during the stabilization's works of the bell tower, and then discarded for forty years, until 2005.
The basilica has been atitular church forCardinal-priests (the second order) from 1587, originally calledSant'Alessio.
In the 19th century, the former dedication of the basilica was renewed, and from that time on the official name of the basilica and the cardinaltitulus are Santi Bonifacio e(d) Alessio.
(All Italian unless specified)
Media related toSanti Bonifacio e Alessio at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by San Bartolomeo all'Isola | Landmarks of Rome Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio | Succeeded by San Camillo de Lellis |
| International | |
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| Geographic | |
| Other | |
