San Giorgio in Velabro

A 7th-century church beside the ancient Forum Boarium and the Arch of Janus — preserves a medieval atmosphere increasingly rare in central Rome. The portico was damaged in a 1993 mafia bombing intended to destabilise the Italian state during the prosecution of Cosa Nostra; it has been carefully restored. Holds the relics of Saint George, patron saint of England (delivered to Rome in the 8th century), and a 12th-century apse fresco. Quietly atmospheric.