Church of Saint John and Paul in Rome

This church was built in the 4th Century on the site of the old Roman house on the Celian Hil where two saint martyrs, John and Paul have been buried. The church has been rebuilt several times, first after an earthquake in 442, and then after the 1th-century sack of the Normans. In the early 18th Century the church took on a Baroque style under a restoration project led by Fabrizio Cardinal Paolucci. In the years 1946-67 took place the excavations of the Roman ruins beneath the church. From this period come some of the artifacts held in the church's antiquarium. The altar is built over a bath, where can be found the remains of the two saint martyrs. In the apse there are frescoes of 'Christ in Glory' by Cristoforo Roncalli, as well as paintings depicting martyrdom of Saint John and Pau by Domenico Piastrini and Giacomo Triga.

Then, in the 8th Century, the site was restored by Pope Adrian I. In the 16th and 17th Centuries, a splendid Baroque ceiling was added to the interior, but between 1940 and 1941 all the Baroque features were removed and the church regained its more primitive simplicity. The last renovation was led by the Rosminian Fathers, who have taken care of the Basilica since 1938. Next to the church they opened the Collegio Missionario which is nowadays home to their International House of Studies. The porch of the Basilica is supported by four classical marble columns. The interior is divided into three naves, separated by two rows of columns.