Walk 4.

Santa Sabina to the Theatre of Marcellus

A two to three hour walk from the Aventine Hill to the Ghetto

Part 1. Santa Sabina to the Tiber

Part 2. The Tiber to the Church of  
            St. George

                       (jump directly HERE)

Part 3. St. George to the Ghetto
               (jump directly HERE)

1. Start at the picturesque Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta on the Aventine Hill, reached by Via Santa Sabina and best climbed by taxi. Here is the Villa del Priorato di Malta, home of the Catholic Military Order of Malta.

The building and grounds have been granted extraterritorial status, so are sovereign territory outside Italian jurisdiction. The Villa is best known for a small keyhole in the arched entrance doorway, through which the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica can be seen at the end of a garden framed in clipped cypress trees. (Don’t be fooled by the apparent size of St Peter's … it is small and a long way away. Below [4] is a picture taken from the next door garden.) You won’t miss the keyhole gate as it will usually have a queue of tourists lined up to take their turn at quickly squinting a peek, then taking an out-of-focus picture through the keyhole.

I, of course, did the same … my result (left) and the actual view (right).

Apart from a nicely framed view of St Peter's, the excitement comes from looking through the sovereign territory of Malta, seeing buildings in Italy, then seeing St Peter's in The Vatican ... three countries at once! [hoo-ray!].

The site on the Aventine Hill, overlooking the Tiber and across the city, was already a fortified Benedictine monastery in the 10th.C. The monastery passed to the crusading Knights Templars and after the destruction of their order, to the Knights Hospitallers, predecessors of the present Order of Malta.

2. Next door is the Basilica of Saint Bonifacio Alessio.  Founded between the 3rd and 4th centuries, it was restored in 1216 by Pope Honorius III and several times since. Some small columns of the original building survive embedded in the rear wall. Note this church faces North-South, not East-West as is the norm but not the rule.

Alessio (Alexis) was allegedly the son of a Roman Senator, who as a teenager left home to escape consummating an arranged marriage, then spent 17 years in wandering in humility as a destitute beggar. He returned to live unrecognised by his parents in a toolshed under a wooden exterior staircase at the family home near or under the present church. He died before they did and they found a paper revealing his identity on his body.

The shrine to the left inside the church entrance has his statue under the preserved staircase.

3. Next church along is what you have really come up here to see… the ancient Basilica Santa Sabina, perhaps the best example of an early Christian church in Rome. Sabina was a rich matron who lived in the 2nd.C., beheaded under the Emperor Vespasian, (or perhaps Hadrian), because she had been converted to Christianity by her servant Seraphia, who was stoned to death for her trouble. Both Sabina and Serapia were later declared Catholic saints. The basilica was built in 425 CE under pope Celestine I, precisely where the house of the martyr stood. As was the custom, the building was constructed with re-used materials, including 24 marble columns from the nearby temple of Juno Regina.

Building works in the church over the centuries were numerous and various: Mid 16th.C. it was incorporated into the fort built by the Crescenzi family, then in the late 1500s to the mid 1600s, the interior was restored in full baroque style by Borromini among others. After 1870, when the monasteries were suppressed, the church was transformed into a quarantine station for sailors and later became the first steam laundry in Rome!

It was from here that in 590 a procession began, led by pope Gregory the Great, to ward off a terrible plague afflicting Rome. It ceased when the Archangel Michael appeared on the Mausoleum of Hadrian, which since then has been called Castel Sant'Angelo.

In the 10th.C. the basilica was combined with the fortress of the emperor Albericus II but in the following century the church passed to the Savelli family. In 1222, Santa Sabina was given to the newly-created Dominican Order, in whose care it remains today. The cell of St. Dominic is still preserved inside the church, transformed into a chapel.

One of the stories of Saint Dominic concerns a black stone (in reality a balance weight from Roman times) said to have been thrown by the devil at the praying saint. The devil missed and the stone is now mounted on a column to the left of the entrance.

In 1287 the Conclave that was to elect the successor of Pope Honorius IV met at Santa Sabina, but a malaria epidemic decimated the cardinals. The survivors, not caring about the vacant papal seat, all fled, except for Girolamo Masci, was then elected pope Nicholas IV, a rich reward for being unperturbed in the face of danger!

A major remodeling of the interior in the Renaissance style took place under Pope Sixtus V (1585-90), which was reversed in a restoration of 1914-19. The later work included reconstructing all the original windows and piecing together the marble chancel furniture from fragments found in the pavement.   Another survivor of the original church is a 5th.C. dedicatory mosaic inscription along the rear wall. The lengthy Latin text, written in gold on a blue background, is flanked by two female figures who personify the Church of the Jews and the Church of the Gentiles.

Outside and to the left of the entrance, are the original cypress wood doors, dating from the 5th.C.  Only 18 of the original 28 panels have survived after restoration in 1836, representing scenes from the New and Old Testaments, not without some retouching … in the panel depicting Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea, the face of the Pharaoh has been modified, taking on a strong resemblance to Napoleon!

However of far more importance is the panel at the top left. Here is what is believed to be the earliest representation of the crucifixion yet discovered.

Behind the wall opposite the doors is a small church garden. Legend has it that Spanish St. Dominic gave the garden its first orange tree. Having transported the sapling from Spain, he planted it close to the cloisters where it flourished. Supposedly St. Catherine of Siena picked its oranges and made candied fruit, which she gave to Pope Urban VI. Miraculously, a younger tree which continues to bear fruit, grew on its remains, visible through a "porthole" in the wall.

4. Next door to the church is the beautiful Giardino degli Aranci (Garden of Oranges), originally a garden of the church of Santa Sabina. The garden provides a fabulous view across the rooftops of Rome, with St Peter's in the distance and has been used as a backdrop in numerous Italian films.

5. Just past the gardens, look left down a narrow cobbled lane Clivo di Rocca Savella. This medieval road, built over an earlier Roman road, follows the ancient walls of the monastery, winding its way down to the river.

Continue along the road another 200 meters and on your right, behind iron railings, is the Rose Garden. You should be able to enter and walk through to the busy road beyond, the Via Circo Massimo. There are precious few pedestrian crossings in this area and this is one road that you will have to take your chances and find a way across to the look-out over the park of the Circo Massimo and the Palatine Hill beyond.

​6. The Circo Massimo and the Palatine Hill. Time to consult your guidebooks for info here... plenty to see and much, much more to be imagined.

7. Continuing downhill on the Via Circo Massimo, you will emerge onto the busy Via Santa Maria in Cosmadin.

Walk 4.

Santa Sabina to the Theatre of Marcellus

A two to three hour walk from the Aventine Hill to the Ghetto

Part 1. Santa Sabina to the Tiber

Part 2. The Tiber to the Church of  
            St. George

                       (jump directly HERE)

Part 3. St. George to the Ghetto
               (jump directly HERE)

1. Start at the picturesque Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta on the Aventine Hill, reached by Via Santa Sabina and best climbed by taxi. Here is the Villa del Priorato di Malta, home of the Catholic Military Order of Malta.

The building and grounds have been granted extraterritorial status, so are sovereign territory outside Italian jurisdiction. The Villa is best known for a small keyhole in the arched entrance doorway, through which the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica can be seen at the end of a garden framed in clipped cypress trees. (Don’t be fooled by the apparent size of St Peter's … it is small and a long way away. Below [4] is a picture taken from the next door garden.) You won’t miss the keyhole gate as it will usually have a queue of tourists lined up to take their turn at quickly squinting a peek, then taking an out-of-focus picture through the keyhole.

I, of course, did the same … my result (left) and the actual view (right).

Apart from a nicely framed view of St Peter's, the excitement comes from looking through the sovereign territory of Malta, seeing buildings in Italy, then seeing St Peter's in The Vatican…. three countries at once!

[hoo-ray!].

The site on the Aventine Hill, overlooking the Tiber and across the city, was already a fortified Benedictine monastery in the 10th.C. The monastery passed to the crusading Knights Templars and after the destruction of their order, to the Knights Hospitallers, predecessors of the present Order of Malta.

2. Next door is the Basilica of Saint Bonifacio Alessio.  Founded between the 3rd and 4th centuries, it was restored in 1216 by Pope Honorius III and several times since. Some small columns of the original building survive embedded in the rear wall. Note this church faces North-South, not East-West as is the norm but not the rule.

Alessio (Alexis) was allegedly the son of a Roman Senator, who as a teenager left home to escape consummating an arranged marriage, then spent 17 years in wandering in humility as a destitute beggar. He returned to live unrecognised by his parents in a toolshed under a wooden exterior staircase at the family home near or under the present church. He died before they did and they found a paper revealing his identity on his body.

The shrine to the left inside the church entrance has his statue under the preserved staircase.

3. Next church along is what you have really come up here to see… the ancient Basilica Santa Sabina, perhaps the best example of an early Christian church in Rome. Sabina was a rich matron who lived in the 4th.C., beheaded under the Emperor Vespasian, (or perhaps Hadrian), because she had been converted to Christianity by her servant Seraphia, who was stoned to death for her trouble. Both Sabina and Serapia were later declared Catholic saints. Thee basilica was built in 425 CE under pope Celestine I, precisely where the house of the martyr stood. As was the custom, the building was constructed with re-used materials, including 24 marble columns from the nearby temple of Juno Regina.

​Building works in the church over the centuries were numerous and various: Mid 16th.C. it was incorporated into the fort built by the Crescenzi family, then in the late 1500s to the mid 1600s, the interior was restored in full baroque style by Borromini among others. After 1870, when the monasteries were suppressed, the church was transformed into a quarantine station for sailors and later became the first steam laundry in Rome!

It was from here that in 590 a procession began, led by pope Gregory the Great, to ward off a terrible plague afflicting Rome. It ceased when the Archangel Michael appeared on the Mausoleum of Hadrian, which since then has been called Castel Sant'Angelo.

In the 10th.C. the basilica was combined with the fortress of the emperor Albericus II but in the following century the church passed to the Savelli family. In 1222, Santa Sabina was given to the newly-created Dominican Order, in whose care it remains today. The cell of St. Dominic is still preserved inside the church, transformed into a chapel.

One of the stories of Saint Dominic concerns a black stone (in reality a balance weight from Roman times) said to have been thrown by the devil at the praying saint. The devil missed and the stone is now mounted on a column to the left of the entrance.

In 1287 the Conclave that was to elect the successor of Pope Honorius IV met at Santa Sabina, but a malaria epidemic decimated the cardinals. The survivors, not caring about the vacant papal seat, all fled, except for Girolamo Masci, was then elected pope Nicholas IV, a rich reward for being unperturbed in the face of danger!

A major remodeling of the interior in the Renaissance style took place under Pope Sixtus V (1585-90), which was reversed in a restoration of 1914-19. The later work included reconstructing all the original windows and piecing together the marble chancel furniture from fragments found in the pavement.   Another survivor of the original church is a 5th.C. dedicatory mosaic inscription along the rear wall. The lengthy Latin text, written in gold on a blue background, is flanked by two female figures who personify the Church of the Jews and the Church of the Gentiles.

Outside and to the left of the entrance, are the original cypress wood doors, dating from the 5th.C.  Only 18 of the original 28 panels have survived after restoration in 1836, representing scenes from the New and Old Testaments, not without some retouching … in the panel depicting Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea, the face of the Pharaoh has been modified, taking on a strong resemblance to Napoleon!

However of far more importance is the panel at the top left. Here is what is believed to be the earliest representation of the crucifixion yet discovered.

Behind the wall opposite the doors is a small church garden. Legend has it that Spanish St. Dominic gave the garden its first orange tree. Having transported the sapling from Spain, he planted it close to the cloisters where it flourished. Supposedly St. Catherine of Siena picked its oranges and made candied fruit, which she gave to Pope Urban VI. Miraculously, a younger tree which continues to bear fruit, grew on its remains, visible through a "porthole" in the wall.

4. Next door to the church is the beautiful Giardino degli Aranci (Garden of Oranges), originally a garden of the church of Santa Sabina. The garden provides a fabulous view across the rooftops of Rome, with St Peter's in the distance and has been used as a backdrop in numerous Italian films.

5. Just past the gardens, look left down a narrow cobbled lane Clivo di Rocca Savella. This medieval road, built over an earlier Roman road, follows the ancient walls of the monastery, winding its way down to the river.

Continue along the road another 200 meters and on your right, behind iron railings, is the Rose Garden. You should be able to enter and walk through to the busy road beyond, the Via Circo Massimo. There are precious few pedestrian crossings in this area and this is one road that you will have to take your chances and find a way across to the look-out over the park of the Circo Massimo and the Palatine Hill beyond.

​6. The Circo Massimo and the Palatine Hill. Time to consult your guidebooks for info here... plenty to see and much, much more to be imagined.

7. Continuing downhill on the Via Circo Massimo, you will emerge onto the busy Via Santa Maria in Cosmadin.