| Church of Saint Sylvester the First | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Façade of San Silvestro in Capite,National Church in Rome of English Catholics, onPiazza San Silvestro. Beyond the portal, there is an atrium, with access to the church. | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°54′11″N12°28′50″E / 41.90311°N 12.48064°E /41.90311; 12.48064 | |
| Location | Piazza di S. Silvestro 17A Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Religious institute | Pallottines |
| Website | [1] |
| History | |
| Status | Minor basilica, Titular church, English national church |
| Dedication | Pope St Sylvester I |
| Relics held |
|
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Francesco da Volterra Carlo Maderno |
| Style | Romanesque,Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 761[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Width | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Nave width | 14 metres (46 ft) |
| Clergy | |
| Cardinal protector | Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun |
TheBasilica of Saint Sylvester the First,[2] also known as (Italian:San Silvestro in Capite,Latin:Sancti Silvestri in Capite), is aRoman Catholicminor basilica andtitular church inRome dedicated toPope Sylvester I (d. AD 335). It is located on the Piazza San Silvestro, at the corner of Via del Gambero and the Via della Mercede, and stands adjacent to the central Post Office.
Built in the 8th century as a shrine for the relics of the saints and martyrs from theCatacombs, the church is the National Church in Rome ofGreat Britain. TheLatin words "in capite" refers to the canonical title ofPope Sylvester the First, to whichin capite meansin First, in Chief, or in Head. The basilica is also famous for arelic, a fragment of a head purported to be that ofJohn the Baptist, kept in a chapel to the left of the entrance. A second Roman church dedicated toPope Sylvester I isSan Silvestro al Quirinale.
The current Cardinal-Priest is Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, the formerApostolic Vicar of Vientiane and the first cardinal from Laos.
The original church was built with an adjoining Basilian monastery, in the 8th century by the PopesPaul I andStephen III, atop ruins of a pagan temple dedicated toSol Invictus, to house venerated relics of early Christian saints who were buried in thecatacombs.[3] The church was rebuilt and thecampanile with Romanesque arcades added in 1198 during the papacy ofInnocent III, who transferred the relic of the head of St. John the Baptist to it and the name was changed to St. John in Capitol.[4]
In the 13th century the church was donated to thePoor Clares. It was rebuilt by the architects Francesco Capriani da Volterra andCarlo Maderno during 1591–1601, and subsequently restored in 1681.[5]
The relics ofPope Sylvester I,Pope Stephen I andPope Dionysius wereexhumed and re-enshrined beneath the high altar when the new church was consecrated in 1601. The church also contains the relics ofTarcisius.
The church of San Silvestro was granted to the English Catholics byPope Leo XIII in 1890, and is now served by IrishPallottine Fathers. Mass is thus regularly celebrated in the English language. The church is theNational Church in Rome ofGreat Britain, although the structures of the Catholic Church continue to be organized separately for England and Wales,Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish national church in Rome,Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi, was deconsecrated in 1962.
The church has anatrium andnarthex, which isolates the church from the busy square outside. There are fragments of early Christian sculpture, many with inscriptions, embedded in the walls of the atrium.
The façade was completed in 1703. It has an unusual giant order topped with four baroque statues:San Silvestro by Lorenzo Ouone,Saint Stephen by Michelangelo Borgognone,Saint Clare by Giuseppe Mazzoni andSaint Francis by Vincenzo Felice.[1]
It is believed that the high altar, which predates the present church, was influenced by the style ofMichelangelo. The interior is rich in marble, gilding, and artistic decoration.The nave has anAssumption with Saints frescoed (1680) byGiacinto Brandi. The main altar carvedciborium or canopy (1667) byCarlo Rainaldi. The cupola was frescoed (1605) byCristoforo Roncalli. AMartyrdom of San Stephan I and aMessengers of Constantine call on San Silvestro (1610) were frescoed in the apse byOrazio Borgianni. In the baptistry apse, there is aBaptism of Constantine byLudovico Gimignani. The transept has aHistory of San Silvestro (1690) also by Gimignani, and aMadonna with Child byBaccio Ciarpi.
In the first chapel to the right is aMadonna with Child & Saint Anthony of Padua & Stephen I and other saints (1695) byGiuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari. In the second chapel is aSaint Francis receives stigmata (1610) byOrazio Gentileschi accompanied by paintings of the life of the saint byLuigi Garzi. In the third, aPentecost byGiuseppe Ghezzi. The left transept has aMadonna & Child byTerenzio Terenzi. In the third chapel on the left is a fresco of theImmaculate Conception by Gimignani. On the walls are anAdoration by the Magi andVisitation by the Milaneseil Morrazzone. In the second chapel is aPope San Marcello has a vision of the Sacred Family and aTransit and Glory of San Giuseppe by Gimignani. In the first chapel are canvases of thePassion (1695) byFrancesco Trevisani.
Aconvent, dedicated toPope Sylvester I andPope Stephen I, was built adjacent to the church. The nuns remained in that convent until 1876 when they were dispossessed. The convent has recently been renovated and continues to serve as the main Post Office of Rome.
List of the cardinal titulars of the church[6]
Media related toSan Silvestro in Capite (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by San Sebastiano fuori le mura | Landmarks of Rome San Silvestro in Capite | Succeeded by San Sisto Vecchio |
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