Church of Santa Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian

The Church of Santa Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian, located in the Trevi district of Rome, is an important Baroque church with a history dating back to the imperial era. Built on the site of the houses of Gabinio and Caio, the original church was known as “ad duas domos” or “Titulus Cai”. It was rebuilt by Pope Leo III in the 9th century and completely reconstructed by Pope Sixtus IV in 1475. The current facade, designed by Carlo Maderno and completed in 1603, is considered the first fully realized example of Baroque architecture. The facade is characterized by a gradual outward projection, with columns and pilasters creating an effect of movement and depth. At the first order, the single pilasters gradually transform into columns, culminating in a majestic central portal. The interior of the church is a single nave, with a side chapel and a semicircular apse frescoed by Cesare Nebbia. The walls are decorated with frescoes by Baldassare Croce, depicting the stories of the life of Santa Susanna. The coffered ceiling with golden panels features an image of the Madonna in the center. The presbytery, separated from the nave by a marble balustrade, houses the main altar with the altarpiece “Martyrdom of Santa Susanna” by Tommaso Laureti. The Peretti Chapel, designed by Marsilio Fontana, houses various paintings, including the “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” by Cesare Nebbia. Behind the apse is the choir of the nuns, built in 1596 by Cardinal Girolamo Rusticucci, with a wooden coffered ceiling and frescoes by Francesco Mezzetti. The sacristy of the Cistercian nuns preserves frescoes from the 7th century, discovered during archaeological excavations in the 1990s. The church has been the seat of the Cistercian monastic community of San Bernardo since 1587 and, from 1922 to 2017, it was the national church of American Catholics in Rome, entrusted to the Paulist Fathers. Today, it is once again under the exclusive management of the Cistercian nuns.