Page 13 - StCecilia

Onsite visit

What to See

anta Cecilia is a basilica church with no transept and a
north tower. It is oriented west, in accordance with Roman
S tradition. The entire brick exterior of the ninth-century
building survives intact, but most if it is difficult to see because of
later additions.
Entrance is through a small courtyard to the east, whose foun-
tain incorporates a Roman cantharus urn. 9 The portico or narthex
includes a 13th-century architrave and various inscriptions and
architectural fragments.
Inside, there is a nave with side aisles and several side chapels.
Some of the original architecture has been disguised by 19th-cen-
tury renovations, the most dramatic of which is enclosing the
original columns within piers. The choir at the west end is raised,
with a crypt containing Cecilia’s tomb beneath.
A side chapel at the back/east of the right/north aisle is part of
the 9th-century church. The only chapel included in the original
basilica, it was built above the bathhouse in which Cecilia tradi-
tionally suffered. More chapels were added to the same aisle later,
including a Chapel of the Relics in the 15th century.
Notable artworks in the church include The Last Judgment by
Pietro Cavallini (c. 1293) and a baldachino by Arnolfo di Cambio
over the altar (late 1200s).

Excavations and Crypt
he left aisle near the entrance contains the sacristy, which
serves as the entrance to the excavations beneath the
T church. Down here are the ruins of two ancient Roman
houses, with mosaic pavements, Early Christian sarcophagi and a
small museum. Eight cylindrical towers are believed to be part of
a tannery, and there is a pagan household shrine with a relief of
Minerva.

9 A cantharus urn is for ritual washing or ablution before entering a holy place.

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