San Bartolomeo all'Isola
Mon–Sun: 09:00-17:00
Free
45min
On Tiber Island. The well in the chancel is from the original 1st-century pagan healing temple.
Piazza San Bartolomeo all'Isola, 22, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
On Tiber Island, on the site of an ancient temple to Asclepius (god of healing) — the well in the centre of the chancel is from that original 1st-century pagan structure. Founded by Emperor Otto III around 998 AD; a 12th-century marble well-head with carved figures of Otto and Saint Bartholomew sits in the centre of the steps leading to the altar. Today serves as an international shrine to modern Christian martyrs, with chapels dedicated to victims of Nazi, Communist, and Islamic-terrorist persecution. Steps away from Rome's oldest hospital, Fatebenefratelli.