Basilica of San Sebastian

The Basilica of Saint Sebastian outside the Walls, erected in the 4th century, holds a thousand-year-old history linked to the figures of the apostles Peter and Paul.

 

Initially, their remains were translated here in 258 AD, during the persecutions, from the Via Cornelia and the Via Ostiense. Subsequently, with the construction of the Basilicas dedicated to them, they were returned to their original sites.

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Emperor Constantine I, in the first quarter of the 4th century, had a large church built, originally named Basilica Apostolorum in honor of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Over time, the church also acquired the attribute ad catacumbas, given the presence of the catacombs where the remains of the Roman martyr Saint Sebastian were laid, from whom the Basilica took its name.

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In 826 AD, the relics of Saint Sebastian, preserved in the crypt, were transferred to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican at the behest of Pope Eugene II.

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About twenty years later, the Church was destroyed during a

raid by Arab pirates and remained abandoned for a short period. Shortly after, the complex was completely rebuilt at the behest of Pope Nicholas I.

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In 1218, Pope Honorius III returned the martyr's remains to the Basilica, where they are still preserved today in the Chapel of Saint Sebastian. On this occasion, the bell tower (now profoundly transformed) and the cloister were built.

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The current building dates back to the reconstruction commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese in the 17th century. The Constantinian Basilica, built in opus listatum (alternating courses of brick and stone), had a circular plan, with a length of 73.4 meters and a width of 31 meters.

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A journey through time, the Basilica of Saint Sebastian preserves the traces of a profound spiritual heritage, a place where faith has withstood the trials of centuries.