- San Bartolomeo all'Isola
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Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island
Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola (Italian)
Basilica S. Bartholomaei in Insula (Latin)
Façade of San Bartolomeo all'Isola on the Tiber Island
Basic information Location 
Rome, ItalyGeographic coordinates 41°53′25″N 12°28′42″E / 41.89028°N 12.47833°ECoordinates: 41°53′25″N 12°28′42″E / 41.89028°N 12.47833°E Affiliation Roman Catholic Rite Oriental rite Year consecrated 10th Century Ecclesiastical or organizational status Minor basilica, Rectory church Leadership Francis Eugene George Website sanbartolomeo.org Architectural description Architectural type Church Direction of façade NW Specifications Length 45 metres (148 ft) Width 22 metres (72 ft) Width (nave) 12 metres (39 ft) The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island (Italian: Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola , Latin: Basilica S. Bartholomaei in Insula) is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded at the end of the 10th century by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. It contains the relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle,[1] and is located on Tiber Island, on the site of the former temple of Aesculapius, which had cleansed the island of its former ill-repute among the Romans and established its reputation as a hospital, continued under Christian auspices today.
The Cardinal priest of the Titulus S. Bartholomaei in Insula is Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago.
Contents
History
Emperor Otto built this church, which was initially dedicated to his friend Adalbert of Prague. It was renovated by Pope Paschal II in 1113 and again in 1180, after its rededication upon the arrival of the relics of the apostle Bartholomew. The relics were sent to Rome from Benevento, where they had arrived from Armenia in 809. The relics are located within an ancient Roman porphyry bath with lions' heads, under the main altar. The marble wellhead bears the figures of the Savior, Adalbert and Bartholomew and Otto III.
The church was badly damaged by a flood in 1557 and was reconstructed, with its present Baroque façade, in 1624, to designs of Orazio Torriani. Further restorations were undertaken in 1852. The interior of the church preserves fourteen ancient Roman columns and two lion supports that date from the earliest reconstruction of the basilica.
In 2000, it was dedicated by John Paul II to the memory of the new martyrs of the 20th and 21st century. This memorial is taken care of by the Community of Sant'Egidio, who also painted the icon on the main altar.
San Bartolomeo all'Isola is a titulus (Titulus S. Bartholomaei in Insula) of a Cardinal Priest, at present Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago.
Exterior
In the center of the piazzetta before the church is a four-sided guglia with saints in niches by the sculptor Ignazio Jacometti, erected here in 1869.
The 12th-century tower near the church, the Torre dei Caetani, is all that remains of the medieval castello erected on the island by the Pierleoni.
References
- ^ S. Prete, "Reliquie e culto di S. Bartolomeo ap. dal Medio Oriente a Roma all'Isola Tiberina", Studi e Ricerche sull'Oriente Cristiano, Rome 5.3 (1982:173-181)
- Touring Club Italiano (TCI), 1965. Roma e dintorni
External links
Further reading
- Richiello, Maria. S. Bartolomeo all'Isola: storia e restauro (Rome) 2001.
Categories:- Basilica churches in Rome
- Titular churches in Rome
- 10th-century church buildings
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