Santi Apostoli, Rome
Santi Apostoli, Rome
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Santi Apostoli, Rome

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Santi Apostoli, Rome

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Santi Apostoli, Rome

Santi Dodici Apostoli (Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles; Latin: SS. Duodecim Apostolorum), commonly known as Santi Apostoli, is a 6th-century Catholic parish and titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, the mother church of the Conventual Franciscan Order whose General Curia (world headquarters) is in the adjacent building. Dedicated originally to St. James and St. Philip whose relics are kept here, and later to all Apostles, it is the Station church for Friday, the first week of Lent.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus XII Apostolorum is Angelo Scola. Among the previous Cardinal Priests are Pope Clement XIV, whose tomb by Canova is in the basilica, and Henry Benedict Stuart.

The first church dedicated to the Holy Apostles was one built under Pope Julius I in the mid-fourth century near Trajan's Forum. It is listed as "Titulus SS Apostolorum" in the acts of the synod of 499. Its successor was built by Pope Pelagius I, on the present site, to celebrate the victory of Narses over the Ostrogoths at the Battle of Taginae in 552. General Narses contributed to the construction of the building. It was dedicated around 570 by Pope John III to St. James and Saint Philip the Apostle. Santi Apostoli was ruined by the earthquake of 1348, and left abandoned.

In 1417, Pope Martin V, whose Colonna family owned the adjacent Palazzo Colonna, restored the church. The Franciscans took charge of the church in 1463. A more extensive restoration was undertaken by Pope Sixtus IV and his nephew, Giuliano della Rovere, from 1471 to 1484.

The inscriptions found in SS. XII Apostoli, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.

The 15th century portico that precedes the present facade is by Baccio Pontelli. In 1665, Carlo Rainaldi walled up the arches in the upper level and installed statues on the parapet. The church was later restored again, with the facade completed by Giuseppe Valadier in 1827.

On the wall of the portico on the right side, is an antique bas-relief of an eagle surrounded by an oak crown that it holds in its talons. Opposite is the monument of the Venetian engraver Giovanni Volpato sculpted and erected by his friend and countryman Antonio Canova. It consists of a large bas-relief, representing "Friendship in Mourning" in the form of a woman weeping before the bust of the deceased Volpato.

Around 1700, Pope Clement XI instigated dramatic renovations of the church. A new Baroque interior was designed by Carlo Fontana and completed in 1714. The fresco on the vaulted ceiling is the Triumph of Franciscan Order by Baciccio. Above the sanctuary is a fresco from 1709 by Giovanni Odazzi, representing the "Fall of Lucifer and his Angels".

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