San Silvestro in Capite

The original church was built with an adjoining Basilian monastery, in the 8th century by the Popes Paul I and Stephen III, atop ruins of a pagan temple dedicated to Sol Invictus, to house venerated relics of early Christian saints who were buried in the catacombs.[3] The church was rebuilt and the campanile with Romanesque arcades added in 1198 during the papacy of Innocent III, who transferred the relic of the head of St. John the Baptist to it and the name was changed to St. John in Capitol.[4]

In the 13th century the church was donated to the Poor Clares. It was rebuilt by the architects Francesco Capriani da Volterra and Carlo Maderno during 1591–1601, and subsequently restored in 1681.[5]

The relics of Pope Sylvester I, Pope Stephen I and Pope Dionysius were exhumed and re-enshrined beneath the high altar when the new church was consecrated in 1601. The church also contains the relics of Tarcisius.

The church of San Silvestro was granted to the English Catholics by Pope Leo XIII in 1890, and is now served by Irish Pallottine Fathers. Mass is thus regularly celebrated in the English language. The church is the National Church in Rome of Great Britain, although the structures of the Catholic Church continue to be organized separately for England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish national church in Rome, Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi, was deconsecrated in 1962.

The church has an atrium and narthex, which isolates the church from the busy square outside. There are fragments of early Christian sculpture, many with inscriptions, embedded in the walls of the atrium.

The facade was completed in 1703. It has an unusual giant order topped with four baroque statues: San Silvestro by Lorenzo Ouone, Saint Stephen by Michelangelo Borgognone, Saint Clare by Giuseppe Mazzoni and Saint Francis by Vincenzo Felice.[1]

Plan of S. Silvestro

Church interior

High Altar, commissioned in 1518 by Pier Soderini of Florence

It is believed that the high altar, which predates the present church, was influenced by the style of Michelangelo. The interior is rich in marble, gilding, and artistic decoration. The nave has an Assumption with Saints frescoed (1680) by Giacinto Brandi. The main altar carved ciborium or canopy (1667) by Carlo Rainaldi. The cupola was frescoed (1605) by Cristoforo Roncalli. A Martyrdom of San Stephan I and a Messengers of Constantine call on San Silvestro (1610) were frescoed in the apse by Orazio Borgianni. In the baptistry apse, there is a Baptism of Constantine by Ludovico Gimignani. The transept has a History of San Silvestro (1690) also by Gimignani, and a Madonna with Child by Baccio Ciarpi.

In the first chapel to the right is a Madonna with Child & Saint Anthony of Padua & Stephen I and other saints (1695) by Giuseppe Chiari. In the second chapel is a Saint Francis receives stigmata (1610) by Orazio Gentileschi accompanied by paintings of the life of the saint by Luigi Garzi. In the third, a Pentecost by Giuseppe Ghezzi. The left transept has a Madonna & Child by Terenzio Terenzi. In the third chapel on the left is a fresco of the Immaculate Conception by Gimignani. On the walls are an Adoration by the Magi and Visitation by the Milanese il Morrazzone. In the second chapel is a Pope San Marcello has a vision of the Sacred Family and a Transit and Glory of San Giuseppe by Gimignani. In the first chapel are canvases of the Passion (1695) by Francesco Trevisani.

A head said to be John the Baptist's, enshrined at San Silvestro.

A convent, dedicated to Pope Sylvester I and Pope Stephen I, was built adjacent to the church. The nuns remained in that convent until 1876 when they were dispossessed. The convent has recently been renovated and continues to serve as the main Post Office of Rome.

List of the cardinal titulars of the church [6]

• Basilica of San Silvestro in Capite (church website)

Media related to San Silvestro in Capite (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons