BASILICA DEI SANTI QUATTRO CORONATI
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Basilica that was once an advanced defense of the Lateran, with three naves and beautiful frescoes.
The almost fortified Basilica of the Four Sacred Hearts is just a stone's throw from San Clemente, on the slopes of the Celio. It was in fact an advanced defense of the Lateran, where the Pope resided. The primitive church was destroyed in 1084 by Robert Guiscard, as were all its neighbors. The present edifice was built in the early 12thcentury by Pope Paschal II. Owned by the Benedictines until the 15th century, it then became the property of the Augustinian nuns, who still occupy it today. They run a hospice for the deaf and dumb. Once you've passed the adjacent convent porch, you have to cross the first courtyard before reaching the church. This simple, three-aisled church features some fine old frescoes, particularly on the entrance wall. The apse has lost its mosaics, replaced in the 17thcentury by frescoes depicting the martyrdom of four saints under Diocletian. Above all, however, the old side aisles were removed during the reconstruction, giving the apse a bizarrely disproportionate size compared to the central nave and the 17th-century frescoes. In the middle of the nave, on the left, a small door gives access to an unexpected little cloister, built by the Benedictines in the 14thcentury . In the morning, you can visit the Saint-Sylvestre chapel, with its 13th-century frescoes( in the afternoon, opening hours are not guaranteed). You'll learn about the legend of the pope who cured the emperor of the plague, and what followed.
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