The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island (, ) is a titular

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

, located in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. It was founded in 998 by

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was cro ...

and contains the putative relics of St.

Bartholomew the Apostle Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

. It is located on Tiber Island, on the site of the former temple of Aesculapius, which had cleansed the island of its former ill-repute among the Romans and established its reputation as a hospital, continued under Christian auspices today. Its cardinal priest has been Cardinal Blase Cupich since 19 November 2016.

History

In Roman times, the Temple of Aesculapius stood on the site of the modern church. The entire Isola Tiberina had actually been covered in

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

in an effort to make the island look like a ship. The

prow The bow () is the forward part of the hull (watercraft), hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the f ...

can still be seen today. Emperor Otto built this church over the temple's ruins on the eastern side (downstream end) of the island. It was initially dedicated to Adalbert of Prague. A portion of the relics of St. Bartholomew was given by Otto II to Rome in 983. The relics were sent to Rome from

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

, where they had arrived in 838 from

Lipari Lipari (; ) is a ''comune'' including six of seven islands of the Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi) and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, Southern Italy; it is ...

. They are located within an ancient Roman porphyry sarcophagus with lions' heads, under the main altar. The marble wellhead bears the figures of the Savior, Adalbert, Bartholomew, and Otto III. The association with Aesculapius, and therefore healing, in time caused Bartholomew's name to become associated with medicine and hospitals. The church was renovated by

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

in 1113 and again in 1180. The church was badly damaged by a flood in 1557 and was reconstructed, with its present

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

façade, in 1624, to designs of Orazio Torriani commissioned by Cardinal Trescio. Further restorations were undertaken in 1852. The interior of the church preserves fourteen ancient Roman columns and two lion supports that date from the earliest reconstruction of the basilica. The inscriptions found in S. Bartolomeo, a valuable source illustrating the history of the Basilica, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella. In 2000, San Bartolomeo was dedicated by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

to the memory of the new

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s of the 20th and 21st century.

Exterior

In the center of the piazzetta before the church is a four-sided '' guglia'' with saints in niches by the sculptor Ignazio Jacometti, erected here in 1869. The 12th-century tower near the church, the ''Torre dei Caetani'', is all that remains of the medieval castello erected on the island by the Pierleoni.

Interior

San Bartolomeo houses the memorial to new

s of the 20th and 21st century, which was dedicated by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 2000. This memorial is taken care of by the Community of Sant'Egidio, who also painted the icon on the main altar. One of the relics that are kept as part of the memorial is the piece of rock that was used in 1984 to kill Blessed

Jerzy Popiełuszko Jerzy Popiełuszko ( born Alfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947 – 19 October 1984) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in communist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three ...

List of Cardinal priests

San Bartolomeo all'Isola was established as a titular church, the '' titulus'' (''Titulus S. Bartholomaei in Insula'') of a cardinal priest by Pope Leo X on 6 July 1517. The title is held by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago. * Aegidius de Viterbo , (1517) * Domenico Giacobazzi , (1517–1519) * ''vacant'' (1519–1533) * Jean Le Veneur , (1533–1543) * Jacques d'Annebaut , (1547–1548) * Bartolomé de la Cueva y Toledo , (1551–1555) * Fulvio Giulio della Corgna , (1555–1557) * ''vacant'' (1557–1562) * Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle , (1562–1568) * Diego de Espinosa , (1568) * Giulio Antonio Santorio , (1570–1595) * Francesco Maria Tarugi , (1596–1602) * Filippo Spinelli , (1604–1608) * Michelangelo Tonti , (1608–1621) * Gabriel Trejo y Paniagua , (1621–1630) * Agostino Spinola Basadone , (1631–1649) * ''vacant'' (1649–1654) * Ottavio Acquaviva d'Aragona (iuniore) , (1654–1658) * ''vacant'' (1658–1670) * Francesco Nerli (seniore) , (1670) * Johann Eberhard Graf Neidhardt , (1672–1679) * ''vacant'' (1679–1696) * Giovanni Giacomo Cavallerini , (1696–1699) * Niccolò Radulovich , (1700–1702) * ''vacant'' (1702–1707) * Francesco Acquaviva . (1707–1709) * ''vacant'' (1709–1721) * Juan Álvaro Cienfuegos Villazón (1721–1739) * ''vacant'' (1739–1782) * József Batthyány , (1782–1799) * ''vacant'' (1799–1803) * Pietro Francesco Galeffi , (1803–1820) * Bonaventura Gazzola , (1824–1832) * Engelbert Sterckx , (1838–1867) * ''vacant'' (1867–1874) * János Simor , (1874–1891) * Mario Mocenni , (1893–1894) * Egidio Mauri , (1894–1895) * Johann Evangelist Haller , (1896–1900) * Bartolomeo Bacilieri , (1901–1923) * Enrico Gasparri , (1925–1933) * Carlo Salotti , (1936–1939) * Gregorio Pietro Agagianian (1946–1970) *

Aníbal Muñoz Duque Aníbal Muñoz Duque (3 October 1908 – 15 January 1987) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Bogotá. Biography He was born in Santa Rosa de Osos, Colombia as the son of José María Muñoz and Ana Rosa Duque. He was educated ...

, (1973–1987) * Mario Revollo Bravo , (1988–1995) * Francis Eugene George , (1998–2015) * Blase Joseph Cupich , (2016–Present)

References

* Touring Club Italiano (TCI), 1965. ''Roma e dintorni''

External links