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autumn sun, stripy church, Basilica of Saint Sylvester 1st, Rome, Italy

Chiesa di San Silvestro in Capite, The Basilica of Saint Sylvester the First also known as (Italian: San Silvestro in Capite, Latin: Sancti Silvestri in Capite) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome dedicated to Pope Saint Sylvester I. It is located on the Piazza San Silvestro, at the corner of Via del Gambero and the Via della Mercede, and stands adjacent to the central Post Office. Built in the 8th century as a shrine for the relics of the saints and martyrs from the Catacombs, the church is the National church of Great Britain. The Latin words "in capite" refers to the canonical title of Pope Sylvester the First, to which in capite means in First, in Chief, or in Head. The basilica is also famous for a relic, a fragment of a head purported to be that of Saint John the Baptist, kept in a chapel to the left of the entrance. A second Roman church dedicated to Saint Sylvester is San Silvestro al Quirinale. The original church was built 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. The church was rebuilt and the campanile with Romanesque arcades added in 1198 during the papacy of Innocent III, while in the 13th century the church was donated to the Poor Clares. It was rebuilt by the architects Francesco da Volterra and Carlo Maderno during 1591–1601, and subsequently restored in 1681. 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 Saint 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.

 

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Uploaded on November 24, 2016
Taken on September 21, 2015