San Vitale, Rome
Sts. Gervase and Protasius
00184 Roma
The church of Santi Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio, the full name of the parish of Santi Vitale e Compagni martiri in fovea, also briefly San Vitale, is a church in Rome. She's Parish Church, Station Church and titular church of the Roman Catholic Church and stands in the rank of a minor basilica. San Vitale is one of the oldest Roman churches. It is SS. Vitalis of Milan (Ravenna ) and his wife Valeria, which is thought to 28th of April, and their ascribed sons, SS. Gervase and Protasius, June 19, dedicated to both.
Location and Naming
The church is located on Via Nazionale in Rome Rione Monti I. about 300 meters east of the Quirinal.
History and Architectural History
Under Pope Innocent I, the first church was built on the site 408-412. He dedicated the building for the first time two non-Roman saints, the St. Gervase and Protasius. The building was built on the legacy of a Roman matron Vestina, according to her also the original titulus was named. In the construction of knowledge and experience from the residence of the papal court in Ravenna were incorporated, this church is the oldest Roman church with an entablature. Under the pontificate of Pope Gregory I the titulus of San Vitale was renamed. Changes and renewals are known from the 9th, 12th and 13th centuries. 1475, Pope Sixtus IV radically remodel the old church. From the original three-aisled basilica, a hall church with drawn apse. 1859, the church was restored in 1958, the porch was restored to its original state. The church was for nearly three hundred years, from 1595 to 1880, owned by the Jesuits.
Appearance
The church is located about 6 to 8 feet below the street level of the Via Nazionale, a wide stone staircase leads to a small courtyard. The four columns supporting the porch, are antique, they still come from the original construction of the early 5th century. The actual portal of the church contains a wooden door, carved by an unknown Jesuits in the early 17th century.
Affairs
The interior of the church is structurally simple and looks a little bleak by the few, yet this small window.
The walls are covered with frescoes, these represent martyr scenes in landscapes and trompe paintings were dar. Executed according to recent findings in the years 1595-1610 from two otherwise not well-known artists, Tarquinio Ligustri and Annibale Priori, the older literature wrote this Gasparre Poussin or Cavalier d' Arpino to ..
The left and right on the walls, two side altars in Ädikulaform, are created as the wooden coffered ceiling in the conversions in the late 15th century.
The frescoes of the apse were carried out by Agostino Ciampelli in the style of Tuscan Mannerism.
Opening times
The church is open weekdays from 07:45 bis 12:30 clock and from 16:00 until 19:00 clock.