Basilica Of Saint Sabina In Rome, Italy Editorial Image

Apse and nave of the Basilica of Saint Sabina view from the Garden of Oranges on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. The exterior of the church, with its large windows made of selenite, not glass, looks much as it did when it was built in the 5th century. The titular minor basilica is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is perched high above the Tiber river to the north and the Circus Maximus to the east. Santa Sabina is the oldest extant Roman basilica in Rome that preserves its original colonnaded rectangular plan and architectural style. Its decorations have been restored to their original restrained design. Because of its simplicity, the Santa Sabina represents the crossover from a roofed Roman forum to the churches of Christendom. It is especially famous for its 5th-century carved wooden door, with a cycle of Christian scenes 18 now remaining that is one of the earliest to survive. It is the stationary church for Ash Wednesday.