Sant' Agata dei Goti

Map
Church of Sant' Agata dei Goti, Rome
Sant' Agata dei Goti
Of ancient foundation, the church of Sant' Agata dei Goti (St Agatha of the Goths) is dedicated to the third-century Sicilian martyr, St Agatha.
Bas-relief of St Agatha, facade of the church of Sant' Agata dei Goti, Rome
Bas-relief of St Agatha
There is a fine stucco bas-relief of St Agatha above the entrance. It depicts St Agatha holding the palm of martyrdom and her severed breasts on a plate. The story goes that the saint had her breasts severed when she refused to renounce her faith in Christ, only for St Peter to visit her in her prison cell the following night in order to re-attach them. Above the tondo is a relief of two crossed sprays of lilies surmounted by a crown, a symbol of virginity triumphant.
Interior, Sant' Agata dei Goti, Rome
Nave
The granite columns flanking the nave are ancient and sport their original Ionic capitals.
The windows above the arcades were installed in the 17th century. In between the windows are a series of paintings depicting events in the life of St Agatha; they have been attributed to Paolo Gismondi (c. 1612 - c. 1685), also known as Paolo Perugino.

​The cycle starts on the right: Agatha Among the Daughters of Aphrodisia, Agatha Refusing to Worship Idols, Agatha Having a Breast Amputated, St Peter Appearing to Agatha, Agatha on a Pyre, Agatha on her Deathbed.
Funerary monument of Cardinal Carlo Bichi by Carlo de Dominicis, Church of Sant' Agata dei Goti, Rome
Funerary Monument of Cardinal Carlo Bichi
The left aisle is home to a stucco funerary monument to Cardinal Carlo Bichi (died 1718), the work of Carlo de Dominicis (1696-1758).