The Basilica of Sts. Boniface and Alexis on the Aventine Hill
in Rome appears today vested in the baroque style as it was completely
restructured in the middle of the 18th century. Its origin is
quite ancient since it can be traced back on the end of the 5th
century when a chapel was built on the Aventine, at the residence
of wealthy family, in which the mortal remains of a martyr who
lived between the 4th and the 5th century were collected.
Bonifacio
and Alessio
On the Aventine the veneration of Boniface, a martyr from Tharsus
of Cicilia (today's Turky), is documented as early ad in the 7th
century. Later the body of Boniface was brought to Rome; his name
is recorded in the Roman martyrology on May 14. The narrative
of his martyrdom, translated from the original Greek in the 7th
century, presents a complex development of events. According to
the said narrative, Boniface, a native of Rome, was convinced
by a noble lady to give assistance to the Christians persecuted
in the East, in order to atone for the sinful life the two had
previously led together. The same lady, after Boniface's death,
took care of his remains. The name attributed to this noble lady,
Aglae, is of Greek origin, a clear reminder of the intense relationships
that existed between Rome and Costantinople during the 6th and
7th centuries, to the point that a settlement of Eastern immigrants
on the Aventine came to be known as Balcerna, the name of a suburb
of Costantinople. Probably the name Aglae was the substitute of
one of the names of those noble families whose ancestors had settled
on the Aventine during the first period of the Roman Empire (
at the biginning of the Christian era ) when the hill acquired
a high-class residential character, while in earlier times it
had been considered the "acropolis of the plebeians and foreigners".
It is to be mentioned, however, that in 410 A.D. the magnificient
constructions on the Aventine had been destroyed by the Visigoths
of Alaric. When the veneration of the martyr St. Boniface took
root, the relics of other virtuous persons were received and stored
in the chapel dedicated to him. Among these was Alexis, a personality
undoubtedly of oriental origin, who had led a saintly life. According
to the legend attached to his name, he lived in absolute humility
and poverty, serving the noble family of the house where he spent
the last 17 years of his life. It was only after his death that
he was recognized as a legitimate member of the same household,
which he had left many years before without giving any further
news of himself.
Legend of St. Alexis
The stories of the two saints contain some elements in common
that gave origin to overlapping accounts. Eventually, however,
the story of the second prevailed over the first and developed
into the so called legend of St. Alexis. This is documented in
the West not before the 10th century. In it we can see the happy
convergence of many elements of different origin: historical and
imaginary, religious and secular, popular and aristocratic, Roman
and Oriental.
The central axis of the narrative is, apart from Rome, the city
of Edessa in Syria, where as early as in the 5th century there
was the widespread story of "man of God" that presented
some traits quite similar to that of St. Alexis as well as an
evident connection with other pious stories that were circulated
in different areas of the Christian East. On the Aventine Hill
the legend of St. Alexis finds both its beginning and its conclusion,
being supported by the historical testimony of the relationships
between Rome and the East that were thriving in the 5th century
through the 10th and by the record of the activities that were
taking place both on the hill and at its foot, along the Tiber.
In its final version the legend presents the following sequence
of events: heeding the calling to a life of piety, Alexis, the
son of Euphemian, a rich resident of the Aventine, goes away from
his own house on the very evening of his wedding with a noble
young lady and reaches Edessa. Seventeen years later, feeling
uncomfortable with the popularity gained through his holy life,
Alexis becomes a pilgrim again, in search of another place to
do penance. Eventually his journey ends in his own family home
in Rome, where, without being recognized, he spends another 17
years, a servant among other servants, sleeping under a staircase.
At his death many people came to the house, drawn by the sound
of a mysterious bell. Among them was the Pope himself who found
in Alexis'hands a script in which his real identity was disclosed,
along with the account of his whole life. The legend of St. Alexis
spread everywhere in Europe, and became the subject of many literary
and artistic works of considerable value. In France the poem "The
life of St. Alexis", by Thibaud, is considered the first
French literary piece written in the vulgar "langue d'Oil".
In the 13th century, Italy, the legend underwent several valuable
adaptations, for instance those produced by Jacopo da Varezze
in the "Legenda aurea" (Tne golden legend) and by Domenico
Cavalca, in the "Vita dei Padri" (Life of the Fathers).
There were also several sacred plays that for centuries were staged
both in the popular environments and in aristocratic settings.
Particularly renowned is the spiritual play "Il Sant'Alessio"
staged in 1632 in the "Palazzo Barberini alle quattro Fontane"
by Card. Francesco Barberini, based on a libretto written by Giulio
Rospigliosi (the future Pope Clement IX), with music by Stefano
Landi and stage-decoration by Pietro da Cortona. Coming to the
figurative field, it is to be mentioned that the whole story of
St. Alexis is represented, in an interesting sequence of paintings
in the lower basilica of St. Clement in Rome (second half of the
11th century). St. Alexis'figure and episodes of his life are
frequent subjects of Italian sculpture and painting.
In the Roman calendar St. Alexis is commemorated on the 17th of
July.
Church and Monastery
Throughout the centuries the Aventine Hill with the church of
St. Boniface - raised to the rank of basilica and dedicated also
to St. Alexis in 986 - has maintained its role as center of diffusion
of the Alexian legend. Some years earlier, in 977, the church
and the adjoining monastery were entrusted to the metropolitan
bishop Sergius, exiled from Damascus (Syria), by Pope Benedict
VII. "Home of Saints" was the definition attributed
by an authoritative historian to the monastery, whose dwellers
for many decades were monks of both Latin and Greek tradition.
After its erection the monastery soon became a center for the
promotion of the Christian life and the evangelization of the
populations of large areas in eastern Europe. Among the illustrious
persons who dwelt in the monastery, special mention is to be made
of St. Adalbert, bishop of Prague (956-997). At the beginning
of the 13th century, during the time of Honorius III (1216-1227),
the basilica consisted of a nave and two aisles of equal height,
separated by walls decorated with imitation galleries and with
arcades leaning on eight columns on each side.
Some structural modifications to the medieval setting, were made
at the end of the 16th century, by the Hermits of St. Jerome of
the Observance, who were in charge of the church since 1426, for
more than 4 centuries. Valuable information is afforded by the
book titled "Il Tempio e monastero dei santi Bonifacio e
Alessio" (The church and monastery of Saints Boniface and
Alexis), written in 1752 by the Milanese abbot Felice Maria Nerini
(1705-1787), of the Hermits of St. Jerome of the Observance.
The present planimetry and dimensions of the Basilica (length
50 meters, width 23 meters and height 19 meters) are the result
of the huge restructuring works undertaken in view of the holy
year 1750, with a project of Giovanni Battista Nolli from Como
(1701-1756), later revised by Tommaso De Marchis from Rome (1693-1759).
The initiative was financed by Card. Angelo Maria Querini (1680-1755)
from Venice, who was the "cardinale titolare" of the
Basilica, bishop of Brescia and archivista di santa romana Chiesa
(archivist of the holy Roman Church). Further restructuring works
were done between the years 1852 and 1860, after the arrival of
the Somascan Fathers, to whom the basilica and the monastery were
donated in 1846 by Pius IX. The decoration of the central nave
is the work of Michele Ottaviani, a native of the Marches. The
apse and the pendentives of the cross vault are owed to Carlo
Gavardini of Pesaro (1811-1869). The crypt is still preserved
in the romanic structure and decoration.
From 1587 the basilica of St. Alexis is a cardinal title, which
means that it is a church entrusted to a cardinal. For the past
century the title has been held a Brazilian cardinal.
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