San Bartolomeo all' Isola

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Map

San Bartolomeo all' Isola

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The church of San Bartolomeo all' Isola was founded in the 10th century by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (r. 996-1002) to honour his friend St Adalbert, Bishop of Prague. The church was restored in 1624 by the Roman architect Orazio Torriani (1602-57).  

The inscription on the facade reads: IN HAC BASILICA REQVIESCAT CORPVS S BARTHOLOMAEI APOSTOLI (In this basilica rests the body of St Bartholomew the Apostle).

The nave is flanked by 14 antique columns. A porphyry basin from the Baths of Caracalla serves as both the high altar and a reliquary for the (putative) bones of St Bartholomew. 

Set into the chancel steps is a medieval well-head, which bears the figures of Christ, a bishop (either St Paulinus or St Adalbert), St Bartholomew, and Emperor Otto III. Letters next to their heads form the inscription: OS PVTEI SANCTI CIRCVMDANT ORBE ROTANTI  (The saints surround the mouth of the well as the orb rotates). 

The church stands on the Isola Tiberina, a small island in the river Tiber, which was once the site of the ancient Temple of Aesculapius (early 3rd century BCE). 

The Romanesque bell-tower was built in 1118. 

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Interior

Medieval well-head