(147/29) San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum (Scala Sancta)

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San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum is a16th century private chapel of the Pope at the top of the Scala Santa or "Holy Staircase".

History:

When the new Lateran Palace was being built for the popes in the 15th century, the main staircase from the old palace was preserved because a tradition had become established that it originally came from the governor's palace in Jerusalem. This implied that Jesus Christ would have descended it after his condemnation by Pontius Pilate, on his way to his crucifixion. It consists of twenty-eight stairs of Tyrian marble. For it, Pope Sixtus V had a new building built designed by Domenico Fontana and opened in 1589. A Roman pilgrimage devotion ever since has been to ascend these stairs on one's knees while meditating on the Passion of Christ. [1] [3]

At the top of the staircase is the chapel known as the Sancta Sanctorum, dedicated to the Roman martyr St Laurence. [1]

The first mention of the chapel is found in the Liber Pontificalis, written in the time of Pope Stephen III (†772). More testimonies began to appear from the year 1000 onwards, particularly as regards the Holy week liturgy and the possession of the Lateran. Gregory IV (†844) had a private apartment built near the chapel to allow him to pray there and preside over the clerics of the Curia more easily. The Popes including Leo III (†816), Innocent III (†1216), Honorius III (†1227), Nicholas III (†1280) and Callistus III (†1458) competed with each other to adorn and restore the (147/29) Sancta Sanctorum. The latter two were particularly important in this process, and it is to them that we owe the present form of the chapel. Under the supervision of Nicolas III, frescos attributed to the school of Cavallini, Cimabue and others were created, as was the mosaic above the altar and the Cosmati floor. Callistus III (†1458) later built the reinforcing wall at the back of the chapel. The Chapel sustained no serious damage during the sack of Rome in 1527 and the later building and work of Sixtus V preserved the main features of the Sancta Sanctorum. [3]

The Sanctuary was restored by Pius IX (1846-78) and an adjoining convent was built and entrusted to the Passionist Fathers on February 24, 1853. The Sanctuary, as part of the Holy See, according to the 1929 Lateran pact between Mussolini and the Roman Catholic Church, has the all the rights of extraterritoriality. [1]

Exterior:

This resembles an 18th-century town house, with two stories. The first storey has Doric pilaster, the second one Ionic. Below the flat roof is a dedicatory inscription in Latin, which translates "Pope Sixtus V had the sanctuary built as a place to put the Scala Santa". The entrance door leads directly to the staircase. [1]

Interior:

Scala Santa The stairs of the Scala Santa are now protected with wooden boards, with peepholes in places so that pilgrims can touch the original stone. There is one flight. The vault and walls are decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Guerra and Cesare Nebbia (with their assistants) soon after the building was opened. There are two other, ordinary staircases, one to each side. At times when there are many pilgrims, such as Holy Week, these also are declared to be "sacred" and so can be used in the same way. At other times, they are used by those walking back down. It is forbidden actually to walk on the Scala Santa, unless one becomes unwell (except for maintenance staff). [1]

At the top of the Scala Santa, there is a vestibule containing 19th-century sculptures by Ignazio Jacometti. [1]

Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum After climbing the last step, the pilgrim finds himself in front of the iron grating which protects the Sancta Sanctorum. According to medieval historians, this was “the most venerated sanctuary in Rome” and was, until the Renaissance, the private oratory of the Popes. Today it remains a testament to the splendour of the ancient Patriarchium and to a thousand years of papal history. [3]

It was built in order to house the most sacred of the relics housed in the old Lateran Palace, and also has frescoes and mosaics transferred from the chapel of the demolished palace and which had been commissioned by Pope Nicholas III in 1277. The deterioration of these had led to the closure of the chapel. [1]

There is a superb cosmatesque floor. The other relics formerly here are now in the Vatican museums. [1]

Acheropita Icon The most ancient and venerated object in the Sancta Sanctorum is the image of the Holy Saviour. Kept above the altar, it is referred to as the “Acheropita” (not made by human hands). Due to its importance, the Chapel is referred called by the name of this image in several documents. Painted (147/29) on a wooden panel, the image of the Saviour is represented sitting on a throne, blessing with his right hand and holding the scroll of the Gospel in his left hand. The origins of the image remain unknown. By the 8th Century, it was the subject of such veneration that, according to the Liber Pontificalis, Stephen II carried it on his shoulders during a procession to ward off the danger posed by the invasion of the Langobards (735); equally significant were the processions to celebrate the 15th of August, held every year according to an ancient Roman custom. The Acheropìta was retouched and restored under John X (†928), Alexander III (†1181), and Innocent III (†1216); Jesus’ face as it appears now is a reproduction on silk, applied to the original during its second restoration. Innocent III had the painting clad with gilded silver plate leaving only the head visible. Whatever its origin may be, the history of the icon is tied to over 1000 years of devotion. It is one of the most important relics of the faith which has remained till today. [3]

Treasure and Relics Below the Papal altar, protected by an enormous wrought iron cage, lie two bronze doors, covered with reliefs and inscriptions dating from the 13th century. These decorations cover the cypress wood ark, specifically made by Leo III to contain the illustrious treasures and relics of the Sancta Sanctorum. In 1902, the grate was opened for the first time since 1521, after Father F. Jubaru S.J. got the permission to examine the head of Saint Agnes which was kept within. In 1905, F. H.Grisar, was allowed to open it once again to study the magnificent collection of sacred objects made of gold, silver, ivory, and precious woods, together with numerous relic holders, crosses, fabrics, brocades, parchments, miniatures and enamels, all of incalculable value – a veritable treasure chest. The reliquaries were transferred to the Sacred Christian Museum in the Vatican library. Among the relics kept at this site were the heads of the apostles Peter and Paul, which are now venerated in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. [3]

The chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum has been rarely open in recent years, but after some renovation is now open except on Wednesdays and Sundays, 10:30-11:30 and 15:00-16:30 (information correct, 2010). There is liable to be an entrance charge. [1]

Artists and Architects: Cesare Nebbia (1536-1614), Italian Mannerist painter Deodatus di Cosma dei Mellini (1225-1294), Italian sculptor Domenico Fontana (1543-1607), Swiss-born Italian architect and engineer of the late Renaissance. Ferraù Fenzoni (1562-1645), Italian painter Giovanni Guerra (1544–1618), Italian draughtsman, painter and stucco artist Ignazio Jacometti (1819-1883), Italian sculptor Jacopo Torriti (13th century), Italian mosaicmaker and a Franciscan monk

Location: Address: Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, 14 Coord: 41° 53' 13.8" N, 12° 30' 24.3" E

Info: Telephone: +39 06 7726641 (dalle 8.00 alle 12.00) Fax: +39 06 772664219 Email:[email protected] Telephone booking: +39 329 7511111 (for the visit of the Holy of Holies - for groups)

Opening times Sanctuary of Holy Stairs and Holy Stairs: - 6.00-12.30; (147/29) - 15.00-18.30; The Scala Santa closes a quarter of an hour before the closing of the Sanctuary (# 12.15/18.15)

Mass Schedule: Weekdays: 6.30, 7.00, 9.00, 15.30; Holidays: 7.30, 9.30, 11.30, 17.30;

Visits to the Chapel of St Lorenzo in Palatio (known as Sancta Sanctorum): Monday-Saturday (Holidays excluded): - 9.30-12.10; - 15.00-17.10;

- Sanctuary of Holy Stairs and Holy Stairs: free admission; - Chapel of St Lorenzo in Palatio (known as Sancta Sanctorum): € 3,50; A multimedia audio-guide service ia available to visit the pope’s Chapel of Sancta Sanctorum, please ask at the entrance.

Links and sources:

1. http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/San_Lorenzo_in_Palatio_ad_Sancta_Sanctorum

2. http://www.info.roma.it/monumenti_dettaglio.asp?ID_schede=3720

3. http://www.060608.it/en/cultura-e-svago/beni-culturali/beni-architettonici-e-storici/santuario- della-scala-santa-e-cappella-del-sancta-sanctorum-san-lorenzo-in-palatio.html

Noreen, Kirstin ; "Opening the Holy of Holies: Early Twentieth-Century Explorations of the Sancta Sanctorum (Rome)"; Church History, Vol. 80, No. 3 (SEPTEMBER 2011), pp. 520-546

Ewart Witcombe, Christopher L. C.; "Sixtus V and the Scala Santa"; Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Dec., 1985), pp. 368-379 [990114.pdf]

Gardner, Julian; "Nicholas III's Oratory of the Sancta Sanctorum and Its Decoration"; The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 115, No. 842 (May, 1973), pp. 283-294 [877302.pdf]

Deimling. Barbara; "Sts Processus and Martinianus in the Sancta Sanctorum"; The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 140, No. 1144 (Jul., 1998), pp. 471-473 [887935.pdf]

Hyslop Jr., F. E.; "A Byzantine Reliquary of the True Cross from the Sancta Sanctorum"; The Art Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Dec., 1934), pp. 333-340 [3045553.pdf]

Triff, Kristin A.; "Rhetoric and Romanitas in Thirteenth-Century Rome: Nicholas III and the Sancta Sanctorum"; Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 30, No. 60 (2009), pp. 71-106 [25702882.pdf]