Domine Quo Vadis (Santa Maria in Palmis)

A small, simple white church on the Via Appia Antica marking the legendary spot where, according to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, Christ appeared to the fleeing Apostle Peter and the two exchanged the famous exchange that gave the church its name: Peter asked "Lord, where are you going?" (Domine, quo vadis?) and Christ replied "I am going to Rome to be crucified again" — shaming Peter into turning back to face his own martyrdom. The encounter turned Peter around; he returned to Rome, was captured, and crucified upside down on the Vatican Hill. The church preserves a marble slab with what are said to be footprints left by Christ at the spot. The original footprints are now in the Basilica of San Sebastiano; the cast here is a replica. Small, atmospheric, and deeply charged with apostolic legend — a 5-minute stop on any Via Appia walk.