Tre Fontane 01791 santa Maria in Scala Coeli

Santa Maria Scala Coeli (

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

of the Stairway to Heaven) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church located on the grounds of the

Tre Fontane Abbey Tre Fontane Abbey (; ), or the Abbey of Saints Vincent and Anastasius, is a Roman Catholic abbey in Rome, held by monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, better known as Trappists. It is known for raising the lambs whose wool is u ...

located on Via di Acque Salvie 1 in the Quartiere Ardeatino (Q. XX.) in

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, ...

. This is one of three churches affiliated with the

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monastery, and is located on a small lane, Via delle Tre Fontane, inside the abbey complex. The location of this church is held by tradition to be where

St Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

was imprisoned. on Via delle Tre Fontane in

History

An ancient church at the site was refurbished in 1582 by

Vignola Vignola (; Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese: ; Bolognese dialect, Bolognese: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. Its economy is based on agriculture, especially fruit farming, but there are also mecha ...

under the patronage of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Subsequently, the present church was designed by

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Most likely born in Genoa or Porlezza, Italy, his work was inspired by famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. He started in his car ...

under the patronage of Cardinal

Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and patron of the arts. Biography Pietro Aldobrandini was a cousin of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, and uncle of Cardinals Silvestro a ...

. The interior layout is octagonal. On the stairs leading to it can be seen writing and drawings scratched into the stone, probably information from the architect to the builders. The church presbytery contains a mosaic by Francesco Zucca made after designs of Giovanni della Vecchia. An old tradition claims that 10,000 Christian slaves who died while building the

Baths of Diocletian The Baths of Diocletian (Latin: ''Thermae Diocletiani'', Italian: ''Terme di Diocleziano'') were public baths in ancient Rome. Named after emperor Diocletian and built from AD 298 to 306, they were the largest of the imperial baths. The project w ...

are buried in the church's crypt, and are venerated as St Zeno and Companions. Some dead slaves from this project are likely buried in catacombs in the nearby hillside, though the 10,000 figure must be exaggerated. According to legend, St Bernard had a vision while celebrating a

requiem mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

at the church. The vision was of the souls in

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

he was praying for ascending to heaven by a ladder — the ''Scala Coeli'', leading to the church's suffix. This vision was the basis for an

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

attached to requiem masses celebrated in the church. Later, the indulgence was granted to specific churches outside Rome. In 1500,

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

was granted the ''scala coeli'' indulgence for his new chapel in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, and the popularity of it in England grew rapidly. By the 1520s, bequests for masses "at ''Scala Coeli''" were common. The church belongs to the

, along with the churches of Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio and

San Paolo alle Tre Fontane San Paolo alle Tre Fontane (Italian language, Italian), in English "St Paul at the Three Fountains" is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Paul the Apostle, at the presumed site of his martyrdom in Rome. In Latin it is known as Sancti Pauli ad Aqu ...

. The church of Scala Coeli was already used by the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

community in Rome before November 2002 when, to mark the visit to Rome of Teoctist,

Patriarch of Romania The Patriarch of All Romania (; ) is the title of the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch is officially styled as ''Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobruja, Locum tenens of the throne of Caesarea Cappadocia ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

officially granted it to them. Previously, they had also gathered in the Chapel of Our Lady of Genezano off Via Cavour, but that chapel had become too small.

Notes

External links

Nyborg
{{coord, 41.8342, N, 12.4831, E, source:wikidata, display=title Maria Scala 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Rome Q. XX Ardeatino Octagonal churches in Italy