Friday the Week of Ash Wednesday
Friday after Ash Wednesday we progress to Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio ( Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill). The church was built in 398, by senator Pammachius, over the home of two Roman soldiers, John and Paul, martyred under the emperor Julian in 362. The church was thus called the Titulus Pammachii and is recorded as such in the acts of the synod held by Pope Symmachus in 499. The inside has three naves, with pillars joined to the original columns. The altar is built over a bath, which holds the remains of the two martyrs. The apse is frescoed with Christ in Glory (1588) by Cristoforo Roncalli (one of the painters called il Pomarancio ); while below this fresco are three paintings: a Martyrdom of St John , a Martyrdom of St Paul , and the Conversion of Terenziano (1726) by Giovanni Domenico Piastrini , Giacomo Triga , and Pietro Andrea Barbieri respectively . Martyr...