Basilica of SS XII Apostoli

The Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles stands in the square of the same name in the Trevi district and is dedicated to the disciples of Jesus, in particular to Philip and James the Less.

Founded in the 6th century by Pope Pelagius as a votive monument to mark the liberation of Rome from the Goths, it is the only basilica not built on the site of pre-existing Roman structures.

Destroyed by an earthquake in the mid-14th century, it was restored in the 15th century by Pope Martin V, who belonged to the powerful Colonna family. The portico by Baccio Pontelli and the magnificent fresco in the apse depicting the Ascension by Melozzo da Forlì, which dates from the same century, were removed in 1711 and divided between the Vatican Museums and the Quirinal Palace.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the church was completely rebuilt by Pope Clement XI. The neoclassical façade, designed by Giuseppe Valadier, is concealed by the portico, which is adorned with a balustrade featuring statues of Christ and the twelve apostles by Carlo Rainaldi.

The interior houses spectacular works by great masters, such as the fresco on the vault depicting the Triumph of the Franciscan Order by Baciccio, the funerary monument to Pope Clement XIV by Antonio Canova, and the large fresco by Giovanni Odazzi depicting the Fall of the Rebel Angels, characterised by an extraordinary illusionistic effect. The altarpiece by Domenico Muratori – the largest in Rome – depicts the martyrdom of the apostles James and Philip. Their remains are enshrined in the crypt, which runs along the central nave.

Since 2008, the frescoes in Cardinal Bessarion’s funeral chapel have been on display; the chapel was discovered by chance in 1959 during restoration work, bringing to light one of the most important sites in the history of fifteenth-century painting in Rome.