{"id":2217,"date":"2026-03-20T12:09:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=2217"},"modified":"2026-07-18T12:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T16:34:25","slug":"church-of-san-bartolomeo-allisola","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=2217","title":{"rendered":"Church\u00a0of\u00a0San\u00a0Bartolomeo\u00a0all\u2019Isola\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the 10th<\/sup> century the powerful, aristocratic, Pierleoni family constructed a fortified residence on the Island. But, in 998 AD, the newly crowned Holy Roman Emperor Otto III arranged with the family to build a small church on it in honor of St. Adalbert of Prague, his recently martyred, bishop friend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u00a0constructed\u00a0it\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0foundations\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Temple\u00a0of\u00a0Aesculapius<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For about 100 years, beginning in the 11th century until 1124,\u00a0this church became the cathedral of the diocese of Santa Rufina (Silva Candida)<\/strong>. Santa Rufina bordered the\u00a0City\u00a0along the Via Aurelia and its boundary line included\u00a0the\u00a0Vatican,\u00a0Trastevere,\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0Tiber\u00a0Island.\u00a0When\u00a0ninth\u00a0century,\u00a0Sarcen\u00a0raids on the City drove the bishop of Rufina from his church in\u00a0Caere, he\u00a0established\u00a0his cathedral on the Island. The Roman diocese incorporated these areas on the right bank of the Tiber in 1124,\u00a0united\u00a0the dioceses of Santa Rufina and Porto (at the mouth of the Tiber) and\u00a0established\u00a0the\u00a0cathedral at the city of\u00a0Caere<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>(Cerveteri).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Bartolomeo\u2019s location in the middle of the powerful river has created flooding\u00a0problems for the\u00a0church many times over\u00a0the centuries, the source of its multiple renovations over the years. Romans later dedicated the church to the\u00a0apostle\u00a0Bartholomew about whom the historical record provides\u00a0scant\u00a0information.\u00a0Legend\u00a0speaks\u00a0of\u00a0his\u00a0martyrdom\u00a0somewhere\u00a0in the\u00a0Near East, grotesquely flayed alive. In his\u00a0Last Judgement fresco\u00a0<\/strong>above the altar in the Sistine Chapel,\u00a0Michelangelo immortalized Bartholomew by depicting him\u00a0holding in\u00a0his hands his own\u00a0skin, but\u00a0bearing the facial likeness of the artist himself<\/strong>. The Baroque\u00a0fa\u00e7ade<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>and portico were later 17th<\/sup>\u00a0century additions. Its\u00a0portico\u00a0<\/strong>has three doorways. A 12th century mosaic fragment of Christ rests above it, and behind,\u00a0Romanesque campanile\u00a0<\/strong>on the left side of the portico added in\u00a01118.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0church,\u00a0spacious\u00a0and\u00a0lightsome,\u00a0contains\u00a0a\u00a0nave<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>with\u00a0fourteen\u00a0ancient marble columns of\u00a0different types\u00a0of Egyptian stone: alabaster, marble, granites of\u00a0different colors. The bases of two of them (fifth on the left and right\u00a0sides)\u00a0probably removed\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0Aesculapius\u00a0Temple. A\u00a0carved\u00a0and painted ceiling\u00a0<\/strong>dates from the early 17th<\/sup>\u00a0century.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0floor\u00a0of\u00a0transept\u00a0and\u00a0sanctuary<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>rises\u00a0above\u00a0the\u00a0crypt\u00a0below.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the second step leading to the altar rests an 11th<\/sup>\u00a0century\u00a0wellhead<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>covering\u00a0a\u00a0thirty-five\u00a0foot\u00a0deep\u00a0well.\u00a0The\u00a0well,\u00a0as old\u00a0as\u00a0the\u00a0church,\u00a0served as the focus of its structure right from the beginning.\u00a0Presumably\u00a0it came from\u00a0the\u00a0earlier\u00a0Temple\u00a0of\u00a0Aesculapius.\u00a0The\u00a0wellhead made\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0base drum of an ancient column displays four figures: Christ holding an open book, a bishop (St Paulinus or St Adalbert),\u00a0Emperor Otto III holding an image of the church<\/strong>, and St Bartholomew.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Made\u00a0from\u00a0an\u00a0imperial\u00a0porphyry\u00a0tub\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0Baths\u00a0of\u00a0Caracalla, the\u00a0altar\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>contains\u00a0the\u00a0relics of St. Bartholomew\u00a0<\/strong>with ring handles in relief and a lion’s mask on its front.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Imbedded in a wall rests an\u00a0iron cannonball,\u00a0<\/strong>fired from a cannon during the\u00a0French\u00a0siege\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0city\u00a0in\u00a01849,\u00a0when\u00a0the\u00a0Roman\u00a0Republic\u00a0was\u00a0fighting for its life.\u00a0It smashed through the outer wall of the chapel and landed on the top of\u00a0altar. It was later inserted into the wall as testimony to a miraculous event. In a\u00a0small glass\u00a0reliquary<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>is the\u00a0arm of St. Adalbert\u00a0<\/strong>displayed in a nearby chapel dedicated to him.\u00a0In 2000, the Church was\u00a0dedicated by Pope John Paul II\u00a0<\/strong>in memory of\u00a020th and 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century martyrs<\/strong>.\u00a0Side chapels display artifacts relating to these modern international Martyrs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Attached to the church sits a building, once the convent of the church, but appropriated\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0State\u00a0in\u00a01870.\u00a0It\u00a0served\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0Jewish\u00a0hospital\u00a0until\u00a01970 when, after\u00a0restoration, it\u00a0became a\u00a0museum. In\u00a0the\u00a0center\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0piazza\u00a0in front of the church lie a 19th century\u00a0stone monument<\/span><\/strong>, the\u00a0guglia\u00a0(spire),\u00a0<\/em>in the form of an aedicule with four niches containing statues of Saints Bartholomew, Francis of Assisi, Paulinus of Nola and John of God, the founder of the community now in charge of the hospital operating on the\u00a0other\u00a0side\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0church. Pope\u00a0Pius\u00a0IX\u00a0commissioned\u00a0the\u00a0monument\u00a0to commemorate the First Vatican Council which began in 1869.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a012th-century\u00a0tower\u00a0(Torre\u00a0dei\u00a0Caetani<\/strong>)<\/span>\u00a0near\u00a0the\u00a0church\u00a0represents\u00a0the only remains of the medieval,\u00a0Pierleoni\u00a0fortress<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 10th century the powerful, aristocratic, Pierleoni family constructed a fortified residence on the Island. But, in 998 AD, the newly crowned Holy Roman Emperor Otto III arranged with the family to build a small church on it in honor of St. Adalbert of Prague, his recently martyred, bishop friend.  He\u00a0constructed\u00a0it\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0foundations\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Temple\u00a0of\u00a0Aesculapius.\u00a0 For about 100 years, beginning in the 11th century until 1124,\u00a0this church became the cathedral of the diocese of Santa…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}