Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano - Roma
La basilica riadattò uno degli ambienti del Tempio della Pace, a cui si accedeva dal lato del Foro Romano per un atrio di ingresso a pianta circolare, già trasformato da Massenzio in un tempio dedicato al proprio figlio divinizzato, morto prematuramente (tempio del Divo Romolo). Il tempio venne donato da Teodorico il Grande re degli Ostrogoti, e da sua figlia Amalasunta nel 527 a papa Felice IV, insieme alla biblioteca del Foro della Pace e il papa unì i due edifici per formare una basilica dedicata ai due santi greci, Cosma e Damiano, in contrasto con l'antico culto dei Dioscuri,
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Castore e Polluce, che erano stati venerati sino alla chiusura nel vicino tempio situato nel Foro Romano.
Nel IX secolo vennero collocati nella chiesa i busti dei santi Marco e Marcello, che vennero riscoperti nel 1583 durante il pontificato di papa Gregorio XIII.
Nel 1947 la vecchia entrata attraverso il tempio di Romolo venne chiusa e sostituita da un nuovo ingresso realizzato su via dei Fori Imperiali. Contemporaneamente il tempio di Romolo fu ripristinato nello stato di epoca romana.
Vicino alla nuova entrata del complesso ci sono due stanze, con la pavimentazione marmorea originale del Foro della Pace ed il muro su cui erano affisse le 150 lastre di marmo che componevano la Forma Urbis Romae. La pianta della basilica venne concepita in accordo con le norme della Controriforma: una singola navata, con tre cappelle per lato, ed un grande abside, che ora risulta fuori misura per via del restauro eseguito nel XVII secolo: l'arco posto in fondo alla chiesa risulta ora molto più piccolo di ciò che era un tempo.
L'abside è decorato con mosaici romano-bizantini rappresentanti la seconda venuta di Cristo sulla Terra. Oltre a Gesù sono rappresentati i santi Pietro, Paolo, Cosma, Damiano, Teodoro e il papa Felice IV. Quest'ultimo tiene con le mani il modellino di una chiesa.
The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is one of the ancient churches of Rome called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli. The basilica, devoted to the two Greek brothers, doctors, martyrs and saints Cosmas and Damian, is located in the Forum of Vespasian, also known as the Forum of Peace.
It is possible that the temple was in origin the temple of "Iovis Stator" or the one dedicated to Penates, and that Maxentius restored it before the re-dedication.
The ancient Roman fabric was Christianized and dedicated to Sancti Cosma et Damiano in 527, when Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, and his daughter Amalasuntha donated the library of the Forum of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis) and a portion of the Temple of Romulus to Pope Felix IV. The pope united the two buildings to create a basilica devoted to two Greek brothers and saints, Cosmas and Damian, in contrast with the ancient pagan cult of the two brothers Castor and Pollux, who had been worshipped in the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux. The apse was decorated with a Roman-Byzantine mosaic, representing a parousia, the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. In 1947, the restorations of the Imperial Forums gave a new structure to the church. The old entrance, through the Temple of Romulus, was closed, and the temple restored to its original forms; with the Pantheon, the Temple of Romulus is the best preserved pagan temple in Rome. Next to the new entrance to the complex, there are the rooms with the original marble paving of the Forum of Peace, and the wall where the 150 marble slabs of the Forma Urbis Romae were hung. Through the cloister, the entrance to the church opens on the side of the single nave. Saint Paul presenting Saint Damian and Pope Felix IV; the latter holds a model of the church.
The importance of this Basilica for the history of medicine is not only related to the fact that the two brothers were physicians and became soon patrons of physicians, surgeons, pharmacists and veterinThe plan of the basilica followed the norms of the Counter-Reformation: a single nave, with three chapels per side, and the big apse, which now looks quite oversized because of the reduction in height of the 17th century restoration, framed by the triumphal arch, also mutilated by that restoration.
The mosaics are masterpieces of 6th-7th century art. In the middle is Christ, with Saint Peter presenting Saint Cosmas and Saint Teodorus (right), andarians, but also to the tradition according to which Claudius Galen himself lectured in the Library of the Temple of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis). Furthermore, for centuries, in this medical area roman physicians had their meetings.
Nel IX secolo vennero collocati nella chiesa i busti dei santi Marco e Marcello, che vennero riscoperti nel 1583 durante il pontificato di papa Gregorio XIII.
Nel 1947 la vecchia entrata attraverso il tempio di Romolo venne chiusa e sostituita da un nuovo ingresso realizzato su via dei Fori Imperiali. Contemporaneamente il tempio di Romolo fu ripristinato nello stato di epoca romana.
Vicino alla nuova entrata del complesso ci sono due stanze, con la pavimentazione marmorea originale del Foro della Pace ed il muro su cui erano affisse le 150 lastre di marmo che componevano la Forma Urbis Romae. La pianta della basilica venne concepita in accordo con le norme della Controriforma: una singola navata, con tre cappelle per lato, ed un grande abside, che ora risulta fuori misura per via del restauro eseguito nel XVII secolo: l'arco posto in fondo alla chiesa risulta ora molto più piccolo di ciò che era un tempo.
L'abside è decorato con mosaici romano-bizantini rappresentanti la seconda venuta di Cristo sulla Terra. Oltre a Gesù sono rappresentati i santi Pietro, Paolo, Cosma, Damiano, Teodoro e il papa Felice IV. Quest'ultimo tiene con le mani il modellino di una chiesa.
The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is one of the ancient churches of Rome called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli. The basilica, devoted to the two Greek brothers, doctors, martyrs and saints Cosmas and Damian, is located in the Forum of Vespasian, also known as the Forum of Peace.
It is possible that the temple was in origin the temple of "Iovis Stator" or the one dedicated to Penates, and that Maxentius restored it before the re-dedication.
The ancient Roman fabric was Christianized and dedicated to Sancti Cosma et Damiano in 527, when Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, and his daughter Amalasuntha donated the library of the Forum of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis) and a portion of the Temple of Romulus to Pope Felix IV. The pope united the two buildings to create a basilica devoted to two Greek brothers and saints, Cosmas and Damian, in contrast with the ancient pagan cult of the two brothers Castor and Pollux, who had been worshipped in the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux. The apse was decorated with a Roman-Byzantine mosaic, representing a parousia, the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. In 1947, the restorations of the Imperial Forums gave a new structure to the church. The old entrance, through the Temple of Romulus, was closed, and the temple restored to its original forms; with the Pantheon, the Temple of Romulus is the best preserved pagan temple in Rome. Next to the new entrance to the complex, there are the rooms with the original marble paving of the Forum of Peace, and the wall where the 150 marble slabs of the Forma Urbis Romae were hung. Through the cloister, the entrance to the church opens on the side of the single nave. Saint Paul presenting Saint Damian and Pope Felix IV; the latter holds a model of the church.
The importance of this Basilica for the history of medicine is not only related to the fact that the two brothers were physicians and became soon patrons of physicians, surgeons, pharmacists and veterinThe plan of the basilica followed the norms of the Counter-Reformation: a single nave, with three chapels per side, and the big apse, which now looks quite oversized because of the reduction in height of the 17th century restoration, framed by the triumphal arch, also mutilated by that restoration.
The mosaics are masterpieces of 6th-7th century art. In the middle is Christ, with Saint Peter presenting Saint Cosmas and Saint Teodorus (right), andarians, but also to the tradition according to which Claudius Galen himself lectured in the Library of the Temple of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis). Furthermore, for centuries, in this medical area roman physicians had their meetings.