Basilica Of The Four Holy Crowned Ones In Rome, Italy Editorial Photo

Inside view of the ancient basilica of the Four Holy Crowned Ones between the Colosseum and San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, Italy. The church dates back to the 4th or 5th century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal Palace with the Saint Silvester Chapel, and the monastery with its cosmatesque cloister is built in a silent and green part of Rome, between the Colosseum and San Giovanni in Laterano, in an out-of-time setting. The first church, was burned to the ground by Robert Guiscard`s troops during the Norman Sack of Rome 1084. Instead of rebuilding the original basilica to scale, Pope Paschal II built a smaller basilica. The original apse of the basilica, however, was preserved, and seems oversized for the new church, whose nave was divided into three parts by means of columns. The new church was consecrated on 20 January 1116. In the 13th century a Cosmatesque cloister was added.