Roman era About AD 280, an early Christian house of worship was established on this site, which, like many of the earliest Christian meeting places, was in a house (
domus ecclesiae). According to the 6th-century
acta of Susanna, the
domus belonged to two brothers named Caius and
Gabinus, prominent Christians. Caius has been identified both with
Pope Caius and with
Caius the presbyter, who was a
prefect and who is a source of information on early Christianity. Gabinus or Gabinius is the name given to the father of the semi-legendary
Susanna of Rome. Her earliest documented attestations identify her as the patron of the church, not as a martyr, and previously the church was identified in the earliest, fourth-century documents by its title "of Gaius" by the
Baths of Diocletian or as "
ad duas domos" ("near the two houses"). It is mentioned in connection with a Roman synod of 499. The Church of Santa Susanna is one of the oldest titles in the city of Rome. The early Christian church, built on the remains of three Roman villas still visible beneath the monastery, was situated immediately outside the wall of the Baths built by Diocletian and the
Servian Wall, the first walls built to defend the city. According to tradition, the church was erected on Susanna's house, where she was martyred. In the 4th century it was marked with the designation
ad duas domos (at the two houses). This first three-aisled basilica was almost certainly built under the pontificate of
Pope Leo III (795–816). According to tradition, the structure became a church around 330, under Emperor
Constantine I, when the
basilicas of numerous house churches came to be adapted for liturgical use. The basilica was T-shaped with a central nave with twelve columns on each side, flanked by side aisles. All that is left of these two side aisles, after the late 16th-century rebuilding, are the two side chapels of the basilica church. In the Synod of 565, the church is first referred to by the title of
Susanna; the church has been dedicated to her veneration ever since. In the
acta, Susanna is martyred with her family when the girl refuses to marry the son of Emperor
Diocletian; the occasion of Susanna's martyrdom is a literary
trope that is familiar in other
"passions" of
virgins in the
Roman Martyrology .
Pope Sergius I restored it at the end of the 7th century, but
Pope Leo III, the fourth pope who had been pastor of this church, rebuilt it from the ground in 796, adding the great
apse and conserving the relics of the saints in the crypt. A vast mosaic of Christ flanked by Leo and the Emperor
Charlemagne, and Saints Susanna and
Felicity on the other side, was so badly damaged in the 12th century by an earthquake that the interior was plastered over in the complete renovation that spanned the years 1585–1602, and frescoed by Cesare Nebbia. A façade, in travertine, remained to be constructed. The present church of Santa Susanna on its ancient foundations was the first independent commission in Rome for Carlo Maderno, who had trained as an assistant to his uncle
Domenico Fontana, the chief architect of Pope Sixtus V. In 1603, Maderno completed the façade, a highly influential early Baroque design. The dynamic rhythm of columns and pilasters, crowding centrally, and the protrusion and increased central decoration add further complexity to the structure. There is an interplay of relationships, none exactly symmetric on any one mirror side. The entrance and roof are surrounded by triangular pediments. The windows are replaced by niches. There is an incipient playfulness with the rules of classic design, still maintaining rigor. The statues of the higher level (
Pope Caius and
Genesius of Rome) are by Giovanni Antonio Paracea, those of the lower level (Susanna and
Felicitas of Rome) are by
Stefano Maderno. The church of Santa Susanna was accounted so successful that in 1605
Pope Paul V named Maderno architect of
Saint Peter's Basilica, where he completed the nave and constructed the great façade.
Modern era Pope Sixtus IV (1475–1477) proceeded to rebuild the church, probably a single nave with two side chapels. In 1588 it became the last great rebuilding effort of Cardinal
Girolamo Rusticucci,
Cardinal protector of the
Cistercian Order, with construction running from 1595 to 1603. One of the objectives pursued with greater commitment from Rusticucci as the
vicar general of
Pope Sixtus V was to renew the life of the religious orders. A reflection of that action can be seen in a figurative program decorating the walls of the church. The main themes are: defense of chastity against corruption of morals and the victory of the true faith over any temptation to idolatry and heresy. They were joined by the exaltation of the virginal choice of Susanna and her prayerful attitude. Rusticucci wanted to highlight and connect these themes to the inseparable bond that his church had with the Cistercian nuns whose monastery occupied the site. Rusticucci, a lover of "tradition", chose from the best of that time, which came from the fruitful artistic outpouring from the
Counter-Reformation. Consequently, he gave the assignment to
Carlo Maderno (1556–1629) for architectural renovations made to the church. It was he who was the designer of its
travertine facade. The frescoes of the central hall (six scenes from the life of the chaste Susanna) are by
Baldassare Croce of
Bologna (1563–1638). To
Cesare Nebbia, a native of
Orvieto (1536–1614), can be attributed the frescoes in the dome and apse curve in which are reproduced some scenes from the life of Susanna. The
altarpiece of the
high altar, depicting the beheading of Susanna, is by
Tommaso Laureti of
Palermo (1530–1602). Camilla Peretti, sister of Pope Sixtus, was a great benefactor of the Cistercian nuns, and helped build their residential quarters, including the Chapel of St Lawrence whose frescoes are the work of
Giovan Battista Pozzo (1563–1591). The painting of the altar depicting the martyrdom of the holy
deacon is also by Nebbia. Large statues of the major prophets and two of
Peter and
Paul are attributed to
Giovanni Antonio Paracea, called Valsoldo. Through the glass floor of the
sacristy can be seen part of the early Christian Church and the remains of the Roman house, which is said to be the home of the father of Susanna. A Roman sarcophagus with fragments of painted plaster was discovered in modern times. The excavations also unearthed a
tympanum depicting the
Lamb of God on a blue background and flanked by
John the Baptist and
John the Evangelist; a Madonna and child between
Agatha and Susanna; plus five beautiful busts of other saints. Behind the
chancel, separated by an iron grating, is located the splendid monastic choir, a large rectangular room. It was built in 1596 by Rusticucci, as attested by the
coat of arms in the center of the choir's rich, carved wooden-coffered floor. The
choir stalls were donated by Pope Sixtus and are repeatedly mentioned in the old guides as one of the finest choirs existent in Roman monasteries. The walls are adorned with frescoes depicting saints and scenes from the
Old Testament. The artist who created these paintings was Francesco Di (1676–1702). Also in the choir, in the four branches of the two niches that preserve the
reliquaries, appear
Benedict of Nurcia and
Scholastica (left) and
Bernard of Clairvaux and Susanna (on the right), all by the
Umbrian painter
Avanzino Nucci (1599). In 1719,
Filippo Fregiotti painted the frescoes in a chapel inside the enclosure.
St. Susanna Church in
Dedham, Massachusetts was named by Cardinal
Richard Cushing for Santa Susanna. ==Interior==