Santi Quirico e Giulitta, Baroque church near Forum of Augustus, Rome, Italy
Santi Quirico e Giulitta stands on Via di Tor de' Conti, behind the Forum of Augustus. Its tall 18th-century facade is divided into two orders by a high cornice; the lower band has three blind round arches on Tuscan pilasters, framing the single portal with a marble frame and pediment. The interior is a single nave with a square apse, covered by a lunetted barrel vault frescoed in 1856 by Pietro Gagliardi. A 12th-century Romanesque bell tower with trifora openings stands along the right side.
The first church on this site was built in the 6th century under Pope Vigilius and dedicated to Saints Stephen and Lawrence. It was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 14th century, and its orientation was reversed in 1584. A fire destroyed it in 1716; Pope Innocent XIII had it rebuilt, and the present church, designed by Filippo Raguzzini, was completed in 1733.
The church is named after Quiricus, a three-year-old boy, and his mother Julitta, martyred in Tarsus in 304 under Diocletian. Their feast is celebrated on 16 June. A 17th-century altarpiece in the apse shows their martyrdom, and the vault fresco of 1856 by Pietro Gagliardi depicts their glory.
The church stands on Via di Tor de' Conti 31/A, in the Monti district behind the Forum of Augustus, a short walk from the Colosseo metro stop. The entrance is on the tall 18th-century facade; the medieval bell tower is visible along the right flank, now enclosed by the former convent building that houses the Hotel Forum. The underground level, reached from inside, holds the excavated remains of the 6th-century church and the Museo tipologico internazionale del presepio Angelo Stefanucci.
The church was the first parish church of Rome's original Irish College before it moved; students who died in the 17th and 18th centuries are buried here. Since 2007 the cardinal title has been held by Seán Baptist Brady, former Archbishop of Armagh.
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