San Saba, Rome
| Church of San Saba | |
|---|---|
Facade
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: 41°52′43″N 12°29′08″E / 41.878638°N 12.485542°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| Completed | 13th century |
San Saba is an ancient basilica church in Rome, Italy. It lies on the so-called Piccolo Aventino, which is an area close to the ancient Aurelian Walls next to the Aventine Hill and Caelian Hill.
The current Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus S. Sabae is Jorge Medina Estévez. The titulus was established in 1959.
According to legend, St. Silvia, mother of Pope Gregory I, had an estate at the site. After her death, so legend reads, her estate was transformed into an affiliate monastery of St. Andreas, the monastery which Gregory I founded at the site of today's San Gregorio al Celio. This legend, however, can be traced back only to the 12th century, when in context of Renovatio Romae and Church Reform, the monastery of San Saba was meant to be provided with a long and impressive local tradition.
The historic origin of the religious site goes back to the year 645. In this year, fugitive monks from the monastery of St. Sabas (Mar Saba, Palestine), who had fled their home country after the Islamic invasion, came to Rome to attend the Lateran Council. After the council, these Sabaite monks settled down in an old domus (=noble estate) on the "Piccolo Aventino" (the smaller crest of the Aventine hill, which at this time was deserted due to the big decrease in Rome's population. Here, they founded an eremitic cell. The Sabaites introduced the cult of St. Sabas to Rome. In ancient sources, their monastery however goes by the name cellas novas or cellaenovae, which refers to the cellae (=cells) of their mother abbey, Mar Saba.
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Wikipedia