The Basilica di Sant'Elia is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

Castel Sant'Elia Castel Sant'Elia (locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo, Latium, central Italy, located about north of Rome and about southeast of Viterbo. Main sights Castel Sant'Elia's main attraction is the Basilica of Sant'Eli ...

, northern

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

, central Italy.

History

The church originates from a monastery founded here in 520 by Anastasius, a notary in the Roman court. In the early 11th century the abbot Elia built here a basilica which was mentioned, among the others, by

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

in 1176 and by

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

in 1211. In 1607 a fallen

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

rock damaged the left side wall, and the church was subsequently restored at the expenses of the

Farnese family The House of Farnese (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Latera and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Po ...

, who owned the basilica from 1540 to 1649. In 1740 a period of decline began, due to the construction of a parish church in the town, which ended in the 19th century when

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

had architect

Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Biography Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti (architect), Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming o ...

restore the edifice. Other restorations date to 1960 (frescoes and ceiling), 1997 (mosaic pavement) and 2003 (apse and crypt pavement).

Description

The basilica of Sant'Elia is a Romanesque structure with a nave and two aisles, and a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

. The columns separating the nave's bays were likely taken from ancient Roman buildings. The raised transept is accessed through three steps from three arcades. The façade has three portals, the central one having remains of a painting in its

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

. The apse was entirely frescoed around 1000. The paintings feature the Redeemer with Saints (including Paul, Peter and two unidentified ones). Below them are twelve lambs, symbolizing the apostles, who walk towards the

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

. The lower part is occupied by a procession of Virgins with crowns, which were originally offered to the Madonna: this part of the fresco is now lost, only two archangels remaining. The right side of the transept lost its frescoes after the 17th century reconstruction, while the left section had frescoes of the Apocalypse with, below, a procession of prophets and Old Men who raise veiled golden cups and march towards the Lamb of God. Other scenes includes the death of St. Anastasius and the Archangel Michael calling Anastasius. The high altar is surmounted by a ciborium decorated with a

Cosmatesque Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also ...

cross and four columns. Of the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History The Schol ...

, only the

ambo Ambo may refer to: Places * Ambo, Kiribati * Ambō (also spelled Anbō), Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan * Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru ** Ambo District ** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District * Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zon ...

survives today. The transept and part of the nave feature a Cosmatesque pavement. The crypt has two rooms, the largest housing Anastasius' tomb. The church had originally a large bell tower, built in 1260 by the canons of

Santo Spirito in Sassia Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian language, Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century Titular church, titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in ''Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name fr ...

who had received the monastery by

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

two years before. It was destroyed in 1855.

References

External links

Official page in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica Di Sant Elia 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Romanesque architecture in Lazio Minor basilicas in Lazio