San Cosimato

San Cosimato is a church in Trastevere with a simple brick facade opening onto a public square, featuring a Romanesque bell tower with a 12th-century portico. The interior contains a fresco showing the Madonna and Child flanked by Saints Francis and Claire, painted by artist Antonio del Massaro.

The site began as a Benedictine monastery in the 10th century dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian. Pope Sixtus IV ordered its reconstruction in 1475.

This church served as the spiritual heart of the Trastevere neighborhood for centuries, shaping how local people gathered and celebrated important moments together. Even as the surrounding area transformed, the building remained a focal point for the community.

The church stands near the Nuovo Regina Margherita hospital, which occupies the former convent buildings that were transformed after 1870. Access to the church itself is typically straightforward since it opens directly onto public squares.

The name includes the term 'in mica aurea', referring to the yellow fluvial sand discovered in the soil surrounding the church grounds. This geological feature remains beneath the surface today.