Basilica San Sebastiano Fuori le Mura
Basilica San Sebastiano Fuori le Mura
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4.0
48 reviews
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13
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30
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tosl
Jersey City, NJ984 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
Nice church next to the catacombs dedicated to Saint Sebastian. You learn about his martyrdom on the tour and end in his quiet. solemn church. The have Bernini's last work, Bust of the Savior, also.
Written 7 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelerCentralFLA
Clermont, FL1,860 contributions
Mar 2019 • Family
We visited the Basilica of San Sebastiano while in Rome. The church stands over an entrance to one of the older catacombs in Rome. Originally Sebastian (a Christian martyr executed by Diocletian) was laid to rest in the catacombs. Today his remains are inside the church where they are considered relics by the church authorities.
The interior of the church is pretty, but it is not too unusual from many other churches in Europe. Three things stand out inside the Basilica. The first is the remains of Sebastian. The second is a spot that contains relics from the legendary Quo Vadis incident in the life of the Apostle Peter. Also within the screened area of the Quo Vadis footprints is one of the darts allegedly shot into Sebastian.
The third item is the most interesting in my opinion. That is the Salvator Mundi sculpture by Bernini. Salvator Mundi means Savior of the world and the sculpture is a bust of Bernini's representation of Jesus. The bust is not remarkable for its historical depiction of Jesus (the man represented in the bust looks European and Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jewish man). What is remarkable is the artistic masterpiece of the sculpture. The way Bernini sculpted the piece, it looks like you can see motion. It has a motion and warmth that makes it feel almost alive. it is amazing. This is also reported to be Bernini's last sculpture. It is definitely worth seeing.
The interior of the church is pretty, but it is not too unusual from many other churches in Europe. Three things stand out inside the Basilica. The first is the remains of Sebastian. The second is a spot that contains relics from the legendary Quo Vadis incident in the life of the Apostle Peter. Also within the screened area of the Quo Vadis footprints is one of the darts allegedly shot into Sebastian.
The third item is the most interesting in my opinion. That is the Salvator Mundi sculpture by Bernini. Salvator Mundi means Savior of the world and the sculpture is a bust of Bernini's representation of Jesus. The bust is not remarkable for its historical depiction of Jesus (the man represented in the bust looks European and Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jewish man). What is remarkable is the artistic masterpiece of the sculpture. The way Bernini sculpted the piece, it looks like you can see motion. It has a motion and warmth that makes it feel almost alive. it is amazing. This is also reported to be Bernini's last sculpture. It is definitely worth seeing.
Written 26 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dapper777
Monaco67,176 contributions
Oct 2020 • Friends
The Basilica of St Sebastian outside the Walls is located along the Via Appia Antica, between the Caffarella Park and the Catacombs of St Sebastian and is part of the so-called Tour of the Seven Churches, a traditional route practiced by pilgrims from all over the world on the occasion of the Jubilee.
The basilica stands in the place where, according to tradition, the remains of Sts. Peter and Paul were brought during the Christian persecution. For this reason the original name of the church was "Basilica Apostolorum", the Basilica of the Apostles, before being dedicated to St Sebastian, buried in the catacombs below, at the end of the third century.
For fear of an attack by the Ottomans, in 826 AD. the saint's remains were transferred to St. Peter's Basilica. And it was a good thing, since the attack happened for real, causing the destruction of the church.
The Basilica was subsequently rebuilt by Pope Nicholas I, while the martyr's altar was rededicated by Pope Honorius III at the request of the Cistercian monks, who took care of the church.
Usually the saint was portrayed while he was tied to a tree but in the chapel dedicated to him in the basilica in 1672, Giuseppe Giorgetti preferred to show the saint lying on the ground in a pose which shows the influence of works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Inside the basilica we can admire a recently found bust by Bernini, the Salvator Mundi, absolutely unmissable. This work, of which there was no certain information, was only recently recognized as the original piece of art by Bernini, his last one.
There are also very interesting relics such as the footprints of Jesus in the famous episode of "Domine Quo Vadis?"
It is a Basilica of great artistic and historic interest with a spectacular coffered ceiling, a wooden crucifix in the old sacristy on the left side of the church, and the beautifully decorated Albani chapel with the statue of Pope St. Fabian.
But the jewel of the site is the catacombs below.
A must visit: the whole spectacular set in the splendid framework of Via Appia Antica
The basilica stands in the place where, according to tradition, the remains of Sts. Peter and Paul were brought during the Christian persecution. For this reason the original name of the church was "Basilica Apostolorum", the Basilica of the Apostles, before being dedicated to St Sebastian, buried in the catacombs below, at the end of the third century.
For fear of an attack by the Ottomans, in 826 AD. the saint's remains were transferred to St. Peter's Basilica. And it was a good thing, since the attack happened for real, causing the destruction of the church.
The Basilica was subsequently rebuilt by Pope Nicholas I, while the martyr's altar was rededicated by Pope Honorius III at the request of the Cistercian monks, who took care of the church.
Usually the saint was portrayed while he was tied to a tree but in the chapel dedicated to him in the basilica in 1672, Giuseppe Giorgetti preferred to show the saint lying on the ground in a pose which shows the influence of works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Inside the basilica we can admire a recently found bust by Bernini, the Salvator Mundi, absolutely unmissable. This work, of which there was no certain information, was only recently recognized as the original piece of art by Bernini, his last one.
There are also very interesting relics such as the footprints of Jesus in the famous episode of "Domine Quo Vadis?"
It is a Basilica of great artistic and historic interest with a spectacular coffered ceiling, a wooden crucifix in the old sacristy on the left side of the church, and the beautifully decorated Albani chapel with the statue of Pope St. Fabian.
But the jewel of the site is the catacombs below.
A must visit: the whole spectacular set in the splendid framework of Via Appia Antica
Written 1 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
phat_dawg_21
Alpharetta, GA17,369 contributions
Apr 2019 • Couples
The church is not particularly impressive from the outside, but the interior is interesting. The ceiling is very beautiful.
It contains the original “Footprints” of Jesus from the Church of Domine Quo Vadis.
It contains the original “Footprints” of Jesus from the Church of Domine Quo Vadis.
Written 2 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StevieRex
Dubai, United Arab Emirates5 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
I got married in this Basilica, and come back every year. Beautiful inside and outside.
Overwhelming with artifacts and religious items.
The catacombs are really impressive.
The only glitch i can find is that it lacks a bit more of touristic flavor ( curio shop too small etc.) In that sense i was glad to find this year a new great touristic initiative: A bike rental that allows to enjoy the stunning Appia Antica road.
I have used it and will do again in August, at sunset perhaps.
Overwhelming with artifacts and religious items.
The catacombs are really impressive.
The only glitch i can find is that it lacks a bit more of touristic flavor ( curio shop too small etc.) In that sense i was glad to find this year a new great touristic initiative: A bike rental that allows to enjoy the stunning Appia Antica road.
I have used it and will do again in August, at sunset perhaps.
Written 12 July 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John B
Waltham, MA633 contributions
Oct 2016 • Couples
While taking a walk along the Appian Way, we stopped into this church and found some wonderful sculptures and frescoes. The catacombs weren't open (it was a Sunday - the day much of the Appia Antica is closed to traffic) but the church was worth a quick visit.
Written 14 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ExplorerGoddess
Sydney, Australia494 contributions
Sept 2016 • Couples
This Basilica is in the same area as the catacombs of St Sebastian. It's not much from the outside but is attractive inside and houses some relics associated with St Sebastian, including an arrow he was allegedly shot with and part of the column he was tied to.
It also has the stone allegedly imprinted with Jesus' footprints related to the St Peter fleeing Rome story.
Worth stopping in when walking along the Appian Way.
It also has the stone allegedly imprinted with Jesus' footprints related to the St Peter fleeing Rome story.
Worth stopping in when walking along the Appian Way.
Written 6 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
claudio d
Viterbo, Italy43,393 contributions
Aug 2023
The basilica is located between the 2nd and 3rd mile of the Appia Antica. Its origins date back to the 4th century AD, at the time of the emperor Constantine, when it was built above the place where the remains of Saint Peter and Saint Paul had been transferred (now kept in their respective Roman basilicas) and initially dedicated to the Saints. Peter and Paul. However, its current appearance is due to the seventeenth-century reconstruction, of much smaller dimensions, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The basilica is preceded by a long churchyard slightly lower than the road level of the Appia Antica. The façade appears elegant but without particular interest: in the first order there is a portico with three arches supported by Ionic columns coming from the Constantinian basilica, while in the second order, in line with the aforementioned arches, there are three large gabled windows; the façade ends with a serrated triangular gable; in the center of the tympanum and above the central window are two noble coats of arms but I have no information about who they belong to. The interior, certainly better than the exterior, has a single but long nave, with overall sober decoration, where the colorful wooden ceiling stands out even more, with the coats of arms of Cardinal Scipione Borghese and Pope Gregory XVI , in addition to the depiction, in the centre, of San Sebastiano. On the right wall, in a niche at the beginning, the most valuable work of the church is preserved, namely the bust of the Salvator Mundi by Bernini (currently - 6 August 2023 - a replica is on display as the original was lent to Leonardo Da Vinci airport; the original should return to the basilica after August 31). Continuing, still on the right, you come across the chapel of the relics, where, among other things, one of the arrows from the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian and a piece of the column to which the martyr was tied are kept, but above all the original stone with the footprints left, according to tradition, by Jesus after the meeting with Peter who uttered the famous phrase "Domine quo vadis?" (experts believe instead that it is a pagan votive stone); then follows a niche with an eighteenth-century monumental tomb of Cardinal Giovanni Maria Gabrielli and then two large arches with equally modest altars surmounted by canvases (the first is eighteenth-century - a vision of S. Francesca Romana - and the second is seventeenth-century: San Girolamo with the angel) ; the wall ends with the valuable Albani chapel, built in the early 18th century in a rich baroque style. Perhaps less interesting is the left side of the nave, where it is however worth mentioning the small fifteenth-century tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole and followed by the chapel of San Sebastiano, where his remains are preserved and where there is a beautiful reclining statue of him, Antonio's masterpiece Giorgetti. This is followed by the entrance to the old sacristy (from here you can also exit the church and/or go to the book office and the bar) and then two large arches with equally modest altars surmounted by canvases (the first is seventeenth century - S. Carlo Borromeo in adoration of the Cross - and the second is sixteenth century: Saint Francis receives the stigmata). The main altar, between four green marble columns, bears a seventeenth-century canvas of the Crucifixion while the Eucharistic table in the center of the presbytery consists of a fifth-century marble sarcophagus. Externally, to the right of the facade, is the entrance (for a fee) to the catacombs below. This basilica is part of the jubilee circuit of the seven churches of Rome (the others are the four papal basilicas, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and San Lorenzo futuro le Mura).
Written 18 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
¿ Se pueden hacer fotos ?
Written 1 November 2020
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