San Gregorio Magno al Celio

A multi-church complex on the Caelian Hill, founded in 575 AD by Gregory the Great on the site of his family's mansion — the man who would become Pope Gregory I and send Saint Augustine of Canterbury to convert England in 596 AD, fundamentally shaping the entire history of British Christianity. The complex comprises three separate oratories in a garden: Sant'Andrea (with a famous fresco cycle by Domenichino and Reni), Santa Barbara, and Santa Silvia (dedicated to Gregory's mother, with a 5th-century marble table said to be where Gregory fed the poor every day). The main church above the garden was redesigned in the Baroque era but retains an extraordinary atmosphere. Gregory's throne — a marble Roman chair said to have been used by the saint himself — is preserved inside. A pilgrimage site for anyone interested in the history of Western Christianity.