Basilica St. Cecilia

Saint Cecilia was an important Saint for Rome and she is known as the patron Saint of music. She was an early Christian martyr whom was beheaded. She refused to be a pagan.

The actual church has many baroque elements and in 1599 a statue of Cecilia was erected and it was said that the artist Stephano Moderno opened Cecilia's crypt and carved exactly how she looked seen below.

The painting in the back shows saints with the typical oval halos but one has a square halo, this means that the person when it was painted was alive at the time. The sculpture shown above of Cecilia has such a quality of innocence, the pose so serene. The drapery and the tiny slit on her neck is such amazing detail.
Down in the crypt we were able to see early symbols of Christianity like the cairo, dove, and anchor.

• A church was founded on the site of her house.
• Her body turned up in the catacombs of San Callisto and was buried here in the 9th century by Pope Paschal I.
• The 13th century, in which the altar canopy and frescoes were created, is one of the few periods which had their own distinctive artistic style of their own.
• When she was beheaded it was said that it took three hacks and she was still alive, she died from her wounds three days later.
• On the pavement in front of the statue lies a marble slate with an inscription quoted by the artist Stefano Maderno whom said, "Behold the body of the most holy virgin Cecilia, whom I myself saw lying uncorrupted in the tomb. I have this marble expressed for you the same saint in the very same posture."