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Santa Prassede |
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written
by zinnia / 10.24.2005 |
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Assignment |
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The church of Santa Prassede is dedicated to Prassede and Prudenziana. Numerous mosaics adorn the interior church, of which the most noticeable is laid atop the main apse, where St. Peter and Paul presents Prassede and Prudenziana to Jesus. The sisters were granted sainthood for their hospitality to Peter when he first came to Rome. The church serves as a commemoration of Peter’s coming into Rome; it also honors the sisters for their welcoming action that provided Peter with a pleasant initial experience. The church occupies a small amount of space, relative not only to St. Peter’s Basilica but also when compared to average churches in Rome. Decked with beautiful 9th century mosaics, Santa Prassede fills its visitor with warmth and ease. It is the intimate space of the basilica and the ornament art’s richness in color that give the church its homelike feel, recreating the atmosphere felt by Peter when he was taken in.
Although St. Peter’s Basilica also consecrates Peter, it serves to convey a message very different from that of Santa Prassede, as can be seen through the architecture. The building is the grandest of churches I’ve ever been to; later did I find out that the basilica is indeed the largest church in Christendom. Unlike most churches built during the same time, the basilica shows no traces of Roman remnant. The columns match in design and material; and with most of them incorporated as parts of the wall and aedicule, the towering structure gives off a sense of immovability to the viewer. The basilica is intended to for the glorification of Peter after martyrdom, to proclaim his eminence in Christianity. This way his successors (the popes) more or less inherit Peter’s supreme status, much like how Augustus deified Caesar in ancient Rome.
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