Anchor 1 ▼ ▲ ▶ ◀ Nave Traditional date of Sessorian Palace: 200s Original church: 300s Pope Gregory II restoration: 715-731 Pope Adrian I restoration: 772-795 Pope Benedict VII builds monastery: 983 Pope Lucio II Romanesque renovation: 1144-1145 Pope Benedict XIV renovation: 1740-1758 by Domenico Gregorini; Pietro Passalacqua

Anchor 1 ▼ Confession ▶

Anchor 1 ▼ ◀ Chapel of Pius IX • This is the entrance to the funeral chapel of Pius IX who is buried below • This is the original area of the church that was built by Constantine (306-337) in 330 and rebuilt by Pope Pelagius II (578-590) in 578. Later Pope Honorius III (1216-1227) added the nave area

Anchor 1 ▼ Portico Artist: Paolo and Filippo Date: Early 1200s • The panels recall how St. Lawrence and St. Stephen appeared to a monk, in 1062, who lived in the monastery attached to this basilica

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Chapel of Mary Immaculate and Saints Artist: Placido Costanzi • The painting is Mary Immaculate and Saints

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ Back Wall • The inscription recalls the work of Pope Paul V (1605-1621) who finished the building St. Peter's in 1614 and his design of the confession area

Anchor 1 Tomb of Gian Lorenzo Bernini • The Latin above reads: "Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who brought honor to art and to the city, here humbly lies" • The coat of arms reads: "The noble Bernini family here awaits the resurrection" • Gian Lorenzo's father Pietro Berini is also buried here. One of Pietro's works is in the baptistry • Gian Lorenzo's son Pierfilippo Bernini was a canon of this church and thus arranged special permission for them to be buried here ▼

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Left Aisle

Anchor 1 ▼ Door of Death Artist: Giacomo Manzu Date: 1964 • The panels reference the Death of Pope John XXIII. Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) called the Second Vatican Council but died before its completion on June 3, 1963 ▲

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ Main Altar Artist: Francesco Moderati Date: 1717 • The statue is St. Anastasius • St. Anastasius and St. Rasius, the statues on either side of the altar, were Roman martyrs. They are both wearing priestly vestments although little is known of their lives • In 1675 it was determined that of all the bones of the saints that were originally brought to the pagan pantheon to reconsecrate it as a Christian church, only the bones of these saints were identifiable because they were in a unique casket. Pope Clement X (1670-1676) placed them in the main altar and gave these aedicules to honor them

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Anchor 1 ▼ Naro Chapel Artist: Francesco Nappi Date: 1600 ca. • The dome is The Four Prophets among Angels ▶ ◀

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ St. John the Baptist Artist: Giuseppe Obici Date: 1858 • The statue is St. John the Baptist. By his baptism of repentance and teaching, St. John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus' ministry • This statue was placed here in order to balance out the right side of the altar with the left side's Christ the Risen Redeemer of Michelangelo

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Chapel of the Dormition of Our Lady Artist: Giovanni Odazzi; Ignaz Stern • The altarpiece is Assumption with St. Dominic and St. Philip Neri

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Chapel of St. Sebastian

Anchor 1 ▼ Atrium ▲ ▶ ◀

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Far Left Aisle

Anchor 1 ▼ Model • This is a model of the basilica as started by Emperor Theodosius and completed by Emperor Honorius in 395. It was embellished over the years until the fire in 1823. The model displays how it looked before the fire ▶

Anchor 1 Monument to Cardinal Sfondrati Date: 1618 Artist: Carlo Maderno • Cardinal Paolo Sfondrati (1561-1618) was titular from 1591-1618 and renovated the church in 1599-1600. He is buried inside the church • The left statue is St. Agnes and the right is St. Cecilia • The relief is of Sfondrati showing the body of St. Cecilia to Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605). Sfondrati had accidentally found this and other tombs during his renovations. Pope Pascal I had originally placed them there in 822 • This memorial was originally at the end of the right aisle where the St. Therese statue is currently located ▼ ◀

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Chapel of Our Lady della Strada Artist: Valeriano and Scipione Pulzone • The painting is the death of St. Joseph