Santa Prassede

Description:

• This church, dedicated to St. Praxedes, contains one of the greatest expressions of medieval art in Rome. St. Praxedes was martyred because, together with her sister Prudence, she collected the blood of the dead Christians with a sponge and poured it into a well. There is a porphyry slab in the centre of the floor, which covers the well. The chapel of St Zenone is perhaps one of the most important Byzantine monuments, with its black marble columns and mosaics. In the chapel there is a room which houses the Flagellation column upon which Jesus was scourged; it was brought from Jerusalem in 1223. Also in this church is Bishop Santoni's funeral monument, by Bernini - his first work - which he completed at the age of sixteen. In the crypt is the sarcophagus containing relics of St. Praxedes and St. Prudence.
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