Discover Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

The Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere stands over what tradition holds was the house of Saint Cecilia, martyred under Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander between 222 and 235. The first church was founded probably in the 3rd century by Pope Urban I, and by the late fifth century it was known as the Titulus Ceciliae.

Pope Paschal I rebuilt the church in 822 and brought Cecilia's relics here from the Catacombs of St Calixtus. From the Middle Ages the building keeps two outstanding things: Arnolfo di Cambio's ciborium of 1293 in the presbytery, and Pietro Cavallini's Last Judgement on the counter-facade — thirteenth-century, rediscovered in 1900, and dated by Wikipedia to 1295-1300 in one passage and about 1289-93 in another.

Beneath the high altar lies Stefano Maderno's statue of 1600. Excavations under the Chapel of the Relics found the baptistery and the remains of a Roman house of the early Empire.

The frescoes keep separate hours from the church: weekdays 10.30-12.30, holidays 11.30-12.30. No admission price is published for any part.

A ninth-century basilica with a thirteenth-century painting on the inside of its front wall and a seventeenth-century statue on its floor. The sequence matters more than the style here, because almost nothing in Santa Cecilia was designed to go with anything else.

The plan is Paschal I's of 822, a three-aisled basilica built to receive a body. Over the altar sits Arnolfo di Cambio's ciborium of 1293 — a Gothic marble canopy dropped into an early medieval church, and one of the small group of such canopies that survive in Rome.

The counter-facade is the architectural oddity. Cavallini painted his Last Judgement on the inside of the entrance wall, which is where a congregation leaving the church would see it; the later insertion of the nuns' choir across that end means the fresco is now above a gallery and can only be reached through the convent. That is an accident of later building, and it is why the painting has its own timetable.

Underneath, excavation beneath the Chapel of the Relics found the baptistery and the remains of a Roman house of the early Empire, with thermal rooms and mosaics.

It was rebuilt in 822 for a specific purpose: to hold relics that had just been moved. Paschal I brought Cecilia from the Catacombs of St Calixtus, and the basilica is the container built around that act.

Everything famous in the church was added to that container later and by different hands. Arnolfo di Cambio set his ciborium over the altar in 1293. Cavallini painted the counter-facade at the turn of the fourteenth century. Maderno carved his statue in 1600, immediately after the tomb was opened in 1599 — and the pavement slab recording his sworn statement is part of the same commission, a claim to documentary accuracy rather than devotion.

The last structural intervention is the one that shapes the visit: the nuns' choir built across the west end, which put Cavallini's fresco behind a wall of convent. It survived because it was covered, was rediscovered in 1900, and is now reached separately through the porter's office.

When can I see the Cavallini frescoes? Weekdays 10.30-12.30 and holidays 11.30-12.30. Mornings only. The basilica's afternoon opening does not include them.

How much does it cost? No price is published by Turismo Roma for the basilica, the crypt and excavations, or the frescoes. Carry small change.

Is the statue the saint's actual position? Maderno carved it in 1600, and a marble slab in the pavement quotes his sworn statement that he recorded the body as he saw it when the tomb was opened in 1599. The page reports the claim as his claim.

How old is the fresco? Turismo Roma calls it thirteenth-century and says it was rediscovered in 1900. Wikipedia dates it 1295-1300 in one passage and about 1289-93 in another, so the page gives the range rather than a year.

What is under the church? The crypt and archaeological excavations — Roman thermal rooms and mosaics — plus the baptistery and the remains of a Roman house of the early Empire, found beneath the Chapel of the Relics.

Can I see everything in one visit? Only on a weekday morning, between 10.30 and 12.30, when all three timetables overlap.

How long does it take? About 50 minutes.