The Basilica of Santa Aurea is a church situated in the

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica () is an ancient Roman city and the port of Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber. It is near modern Ostia, southwest of Rome. Due to silting and the invasion of sand, the site now lies from the sea. The name ''Ostia'' (the pl ...

district of Ostia,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Ostia became an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

as early as the 3rd century AD. The present-day church, completed in 1483, is the cathedral of the

suburbicarian The seven suburbicarian dioceses (, ) are Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose (titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal patriarc ...

diocese of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent bishop is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. For cen ...

History

The church was built at the end of the 15th century by order of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

cardinal

Guillaume d'Estouteville Guillaume d'Estouteville (c. 1412–1483) was a French aristocrat of royal blood who became a leading bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. He held a number of Church offices simultaneously. He conducted th ...

, and was completed by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (the future

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

). The actual construction was entrusted to

Baccio Pontelli Baccio Pontelli (c. 1449 – c. 1494) was an Italian architect and worker in wood inlays, who designed the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Baccio is an abbreviation of Bartolomeo. Pontelli was born in Florence; in 1459 his father declared he was ...

, who had also built the neighboring fortress. It is uncertain whether the church was built over a pre-existing

Paleochristian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

church, but according to tradition, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Ostia, the martyr Saint Aurea, was buried near the present-day location of the church. According to tradition, the relics of

Saint Monica Monica ( – 387) was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, partic ...

, mother of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, rested at this early church of Santa Aurea before being

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to the church of

San Trifone in Posterula San Trifone in Posterula was an ancient titular church of Rome, now lost. It was located at the corner of Via dei Portoghesi and Via della Scrofa, in the Campo Marzio ''rione'' of the city. Name The church's dedication was to the martyr St. Tr ...

and finally to the

Basilica di Sant'Agostino The Basilica of Saint Augustine in Camp Martius (; ), commonly known as Basilica of Saint Augustine is a Catholic titular minor basilica in the Campus Martius area of Rome, Italy. Dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo it serves as the motherhouse ...

. The relics of St.

Asterius of Ostia Asterius of Ostia (d. 3rd century AD) was a martyred priest venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Information on him is based on the apocryphal ''Acts of Saint Callixtus''.Sabine Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints''. Vol. 2. (J. Hodg ...

are enshrined at Santa Aurea.Sabine Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints''. Vol. 2. (J. Hodges, 1877). Digitized June 6, 2007. Page 506.

Description

The inside of the basilica contains a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, and the church is illuminated by a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

and double lancet windows dating from the 15th century. The church contains a chapel dedicated to Saint Monica, which contains a sepulchral stone re-discovered in the summer of 1945 that contains a funerary epigraph written by Anicius Bassus. The fragment was discovered after two boys were digging a hole to plant a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

post in the courtyard beside Santa Aurea.Peter Brown, ''Augustine of Hippo: A Biography, Revised Edition with a New Epilogue'' (University of California Press, 2000), 124. The chapel contains a painting by

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

called the ''Ecstasy of Saint Monica'' (''Estasi di santa Monica''). The apse is dedicated with frescoes of the 16th century. The basilica, center of a parish dating from the Paleochristian age, has been a '' titulus'' since the 12th century.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, 41 * AA.VV., ''Il borgo di Ostia da Sisto IV a Giulio II''. in "Il ’400 a Roma e nel Lazio", Roma, 1981 * M. Floriani Squarciapino, ''Considerazioni su Ostia cristiana'', in "Studi romani" 27 (1979) 15-24. A, Santa Aurea

Aurea Aurea, golden in Latin, may refer to: * Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA), an advocacy organization for aromanticism * Aurea (car), a former Italian automobile manufactured in Turin from 1921 to 1930 * Aure ...

Buildings and structures completed in 1483 Churches completed in the 1480s Basilica churches in Rome