Church of Santa Prisca

The Church of Santa Prisca, located on the Aventine Hill in Rome, is a significant example of historical architecture with roots dating back to the 4th or 5th century. Built on a 2nd-century domus, attributed to Lucius Licinius Sura or Trajan’s residence before becoming emperor, the church is dedicated to Santa Prisca, a martyr of the 1st century. The domus was adapted into a Christian place of worship by the spouses Aquila and Priscilla, as attested in the Letter to the Romans. The church was later mentioned in the 5th century as “titulus Aquilae et Priscae”. Restored several times over the centuries, the current facade was built by Carlo Lambardi in 1600 in Baroque style. The interior of the church, without a transept, has three naves divided by round arches resting on rectangular pillars that incorporate ancient columns. The central nave is covered by a 19th-century coffered wooden ceiling. Among the most notable decorations are the frescoes by Anastasio Fontebuoni adorning the presbytery and apse, depicting episodes from the life of Santa Prisca, and the altarpiece by Domenico Cresti, known as il Passignano, depicting Saint Peter baptizing Santa Prisca. On the choir loft on the opposite side is the Tamburini pipe organ, built between 1953 and 1954 according to a design by Fernando Germani and commissioned by Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, future Pope John XXIII. The instrument, with electric transmission, has remained unchanged over the years and has 28 stops. Another element of great historical interest is the Mithraeum, discovered in 1934 and excavated by Dutch archaeologists between 1953 and 1966. Built at the end of the 2nd century, the Mithraeum testifies to the coexistence of Christian and Mithraic cults until the institutionalization of Christianity.