Daily Updates
Week Nine: 16 November
16 November. Dave Stanek Reporting
The early Christian church of Santa Sabina was erected between 422 and 432 A.D. Celestine I first commissioned St. Peter of Illyria to build the edifice, but it was during the papacy of Sixtus III that the church was finished. Santa Sabina is located on the Aventine, the southernmost of Rome's seven hills, and overlooks the east bank of the Tiber River. In the fifth century, the Aventine was a residential area that many of the Christians of Rome called home.
The site of Santa Sabina was once occupied by a titulus, a structure belonging to a wealthy Christian that served as a meeting place for worshippers to congregate and carry out baptismal rites, Eucharistic rites, and religious education. These structures were simple: any exterior extravagance would draw the ire of the large number of pagans still occupying Rome. The south wall of Santa Sabina's narthex incorporated architectural elements of the preexisting titulus on the site, and the very name of the church reflects the original matron who operated the religious center.
The major predecessor of the layout of Santa Sabina is the Roman secular basilica. This structure was characterized by a massive, longitudinal nave that was intersected by two to four lateral naves and highlighted an apse at the end of the long axis. Although the Christian basilica used the same architectural features as the secular basilica, it replaced the impression of an eddy of space created by the intersection of the longitudinal nave and the lateral naves. Instead, the Christian basilica highlighted the single conclusion of the edifice: the apse.
In exterior appearance, the church of Santa Sabina is very plain: bare brickwork covers the entire structure. The narthex, a transverse entrance hall preceding the basilica, is punctuated by columns that are spoilia (taken from other preexisting buildings), even though the narthex observed in modern day is not the original narthex. There were originally three doors that connected the narthex to the basilica, but only two survive. However, the giant cypress doors that led to the central nave still exist. Eighteen rectangular panels that depict biblical scenes adorn the outer side. The first representation of the crucifixion of Jesus is found here, although Jesus is shown hanging from beams rather than a cross.
When entering the nave, one is confronted by a simple architectural arrangement that highlights the apse at the opposite end of the longitudinal axis. Two rows of twenty four Corinthian order columns (all uniform in design and all spoilia) separate the central nave from two smaller side aisles. The columns support an arcade of arches, whose spandrels were decorated by opus sectile and marble designs of chalices holding the Eucharist. No traces of decoration exist above this area on the side walls of the central nave, but the space was likely filled by mosaics. One such mosaic, which establishes Celestine as the commissioner and Peter of Illyria as the builder, decorates the rear wall. These decorations exhibit the interior lavishness that characterizes early Christian churches.
Lighting emphasized these ornamentations. Three large windows occupied the apse; five were cut into the facade, and twenty six lined the side clerestory of the central nave. Framed by alabaster transoms, these windows would provide pleasing, opaque light from outdoors. At night, candles would inspire a foxtrot of flickering light on the surfaces of the mosaics and frescoes.
Santa Sabina's legacy is the persistence of the simple plan of Christian basilicas throughout the ages. This architectural simplicity was combined with elaborate interior decoration, which epitomizes the Christian belief that the human interior, the soul, is more important than the human exterior, the body.
Plan of Santa Sabina (After the Church of Santa Sabina)
A: Narthex
B: Central doorway with original 5th century wooden doors
C: Central Nave
D: Side Aisles
E: Apse
Exterior view of the basilica of Santa Sabina. The row of clerestory windows (seven are visible in the upper left of this image) would allow light to flood into the central nave. The apse is the rounded shape on the far right of the structure and two of its large windows are visible. Note the plain exterior appearance of the basilica: there is no evidence of stucco that would cover the simple brickwork.
Exterior view of the clerestory windows (top) of the central nave. Below it are two Corinthian order columns that are spoilia.
View of the narthex. Note the plain columns along the wall: these are spoilia. The two rectangular alabaster panels flanking the column are originally from Roman sarcophagi, but were converted to Christian gravestones. Pagans could enter the narthex and listen to the Christian mass.
View of a strigilated column in the narthex. These columns are spoilia and would decorate the interior of the narthex.
View of the original cypress doors that connected the narthex to the central nave. Biblical scenes of Moses, Elijah, and Christ framed in rectangular panels adorn the doors. In the top left corner is the first ever crucifixion scene. Below it is a panel depicting three stories of Christ's miracles: the conversion of water to wine, the division of fish and loaves, and the curing of a man's blindness.
View of the classical Roman molding of the doors. Note the crucifixion and the miracles panels in the top left corner of the door.
The central nave of Santa Sabina as viewed from the doors leading from the narthex. Note the apse in the rear, which has three large windows and stands behind the altar. Two rows of Corinthian columns direct one's attention directly to it. Also note the side aisles, which are distinctly separated from the central nave by both columns and a light differential.
View of a row of columns, the arcade of the central nave, and a side aisle. Note that the large clearstory windows (top right of the image) correspond exactly to the intercolumniations below.
View of the decoration in the spandrels of the arches. Marble revetments depict the Eucharist carried by a chalice. Note also the opus sectile to the side of this image: the square blocks imitate ashlar masonry. The detail of a Corinthian capital is also visible at the bottom of the image.
View of the mosaic on the wall facing the apse in the central nave. The script formed by the tesserae of the mosaic reveals that Celestine I commissioned the church and Peter of Illyria, a priest of Rome, built the structure. Two figures (the right one is slightly visible) flanked this text. On the left was the representation of ecclesia ex circumcisione, the Hebrew church. On the right was the representation of ecclesia ex gentibus, the Christian church. Note also the opaque light streaming in from the five clerestory windows above the mosaic.
View of stone structures hung in the modern narthex of Santa Sabina. These grid-like shapes would likely have been used in the windows of Santa Sabina.