Santa Maria Extra Moenia (St Mary Outside the Walls), also called ''Santa Maria della Nave'' is an early Romanesque-style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church complex located just outside to the South-West of the town of

Antrodoco Antrodoco ( Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rieti, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The name derives from the Latin Interocrea (between the mountains). Geography Antrodoco is located along the Velino river, in the c ...

province of Rieti The province of Rieti () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti. Established in 1927, it has an area of with a total population of 157,887 people as of 2017. There are 73 ''comuni'' (: '' ...

, region of

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, central Italy. The complex includes a church and attached bell-tower with an adjacent but separate baptistry.

History

A paleochristian church at the site was built here in the 5th century, putatively atop an Ancient Roman temple dedicated to

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

. The site then was adjacent to a Christian cemetery, but the present cemetery is now separated railroad tracks and the SS4 highway. The structures underwent various restorations including in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries. Documents note a reconstructed Santa Maria was reconsecrated in 1054 by Gerard, then Bishop of

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

; and in 1178 under the rule of

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

, was again rebuilt. In 1154, the church is mentioned by a bull of Pope

Anastasius IV Pope Anastasius IV ( – 3 December 1154), born Corrado Demetri della Suburra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 July 1153 to his death in 1154. He is the most recent pope to take the name "Anastasius" upon his ...

. The exterior is made of brick and local gray stone. The portal with columns and pilasters has stone designs of animals and plants. Above the portal is a round oculus. The interior has three naves, leading to a semicircular

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. The attached bell-tower has

mullioned windows A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

, showing restoration occurring over centuries. The interior wall of the apse is frescoed with a ''Redeemer Blessing''. Among the other frescoes is a ''Marriage of St Catherine of Alexandria'' (early 15th century). The small hexagonal building in front and to the side of the church is the

Baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptist ...

of San Giovanni. It contains a series late 14th-century frescoes including ones depicting the ''Life of John the Baptist'', ''Flight to Egypt'', the ''Murder of the Innocents'', and a ''Final Judgement''.Parish of Antrodoco
entry on church.

References

Maria Extra Moenia 5th-century churches 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Romanesque architecture in Lazio Churches in the province of Rieti {{Lazio-RC-church-stub