Cosmatesque Pavements 
​in the Churches of Rome

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San Clemente

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The pavements of many Roman churches are embellished with a distinctive type of inlaid stone decoration, a style that is known as Cosmatesque. 

San Crisogono

When the style was first studied, it was attributed to a single Roman family, the Cosmati, descendants of Cosma. Hence the term, Cosmatesque. We now know that several Roman families were responsible for the creation of these works, each family with its own name and comprising numerous members, who handed down their trade from father to son, generation after generation.

Santa Maria in Cosmedin

The Cosmati, also known as the marmorari romani (Roman marble workers), who were active from the late-11th century through to the beginning of the 14th century, created ornate geometric designs, mostly for church floors, making extensive use of purple porphyry and green serpentine, recycling ancient Roman spolia, which they cut into circles, squares, triangles and lozenges. 

Santa Francesca Romana

Employing the technique of opus sectile (cut work), they set the shapes in a framework of white Carrara marble to create a pattern of roundels and rectangular panels linked together to produce the characteristic chain effect. ​​

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

The decoration, which was initially limited to the floors of churches, soon spread to other parts of the building, such as choir screens, ambos, cloisters and porticoes. 

San Marco

The marmorari romani, who often signed their names followed by the title, 'Magister Doctissimus Romanus', or simply, 'Civis Romanus', were predominantly active in Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio. ​​

A Quincunx, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura

One of the quintessential designs of Cosmatesque pavements is the quincunx. A quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five circles arranged in the form of  a cross; four of the circles form a square with the fifth at the centre. 

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