Church Of Saint Sebastian In Rome, Italy Editorial Photo

Jesus Christ Salvator Mundi by Bernini in the church of Saint Sebastian outside the walls, or San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs on the via Appia Antica in Rome, Italy. The master piece by the famous baroque artist Bernini was discovered in 2001 in the convent of the church and is thought to be his last work. Built originally in the first half of the 4th century, the basilica is dedicated to St. Sebastian, a popular Roman martyr of the 3rd century. The name ad catacumbas refers to the catacombs of St Sebastian, over which the church was built, while `fuori le mura` refers to the fact that the church is built outside the Aurelian Walls, and is used to differentiate the basilica from the church of San Sebastiano al Palatino on the Palatine Hill. The current edifice is largely a 17th-century construction, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1609 from Flaminio Ponzio and, after Ponzio`s death in 1613, entrusted to Giovanni Vasanzio, who completed it.