Sant' Agnese fuori le Mura

Via Nomentana 349

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Sant' Agnese fuori le Mura (Saint Agnes outside the walls, not to be confused with Sant' Agnese in Agone, to be found in Piazza Navona), Via Nomentana 349. 09.00-13.00 and 16.00-18.00. This church was built next to the mausoleum of Santa Costanza in the 7th Century and is on top of catacombs. It is very unusual in that the floor level is at the level of the catacomb floor, and the street entrance is at the level of the second floor gallery. The body of St. Agnes lies in a silver sarcophagus. There are several stories about her death at the age of 13 in 304 AD. One is that the prefect Sempronius wanted her to marry his son, and condemned her to death when she refused. Roman law did not permit the execution of virgins, so he ordered her to be raped but her virginity was miraculously preserved. She was then condemned to be burnt at the stake but the wood would not burn. Another is that she was stripped naked by the Emperor Diocletian because of her refusal to marry but that her hair then grew rapidly to preserve her modesty.

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