The facade of the Church of Saints Nereus and Achilleus in Rome has been restored

Special Superintendent Daniela Porro: "Presenting this restoration during the Jubilee year is a great achievement because this small church has very ancient origins, but it owes its appearance to the Jubilees of 1475 and, in particular for the façade, of 1600"

The facade of the Church of Saints Nereus and Achilleus in Rome has been recovered, a unique example of architectural decoration in Roman churches, executed using the graffito technique. The facade shines again thanks to the restoration carried out by the Special Superintendency of Rome and financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

"Presenting this restoration during the Jubilee Year is a great achievement - says Daniela Porro, Special Superintendent of Rome - because this small church has very ancient origins, but owes its appearance to the Jubilees of 1475 and, in particular for the façade, of 1600. A result made possible by the funds of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan - Caput Mundi, which has allowed us to return to citizens and visitors the very particular geometric decorative score of this building overlooking Viale delle Terme di Caracalla". The intervention, carried out under the direction of the restorer Eleonora Leprini, coordinated by Maria Cristina Lapenna and carried out by the Consorzio l'Officina, was particularly problematic due to the serious state of degradation of the façade, from which important pieces of the decoration, performed with the graffito technique, had disappeared, which no longer allowed a correct reading of its scores. The works were preceded and accompanied by an in-depth research of archive sources that served as a guide throughout the intervention and were the subject of continuous on-site checks.

In this way, the constant dialogue between the historical data and the material data has allowed the intervention to be given a restorative character with the re-proposal of the ancient architectural score. Through the discovery of the residual engravings, it was therefore possible to restore the vision of a sophisticated decoration. "With this restoration, the façade has lost the emptiness and confusion that characterized it - explains Eleonora Leprini, restorer of the Superintendency - and has rediscovered the lightness of a suggested decoration: by observing the superimposed orders and the slightly scanned surface, the geometric fields are mentally completed and the entire urban context regains harmony". The cleaning and consolidation were followed by the integrations, which took place with the use of ancient techniques and reversible materials in compliance with the nature of the monument and the most consolidated practices of Italian restoration.

Located just beyond the Porta Capena and before the fork with the Via Latina, between the Via Appia and the route of the now disappeared Via Nova, the Church of Saints Nereus and Achilleus has always been linked to the historical and building events of the entire area, following its moments of great and intense population and periods of complete abandonment and decay. The Church has very ancient origins and stands where the Titulus Fasciolæ was established, according to tradition due to the bandage (fasciola) that fell in this place from the wounded leg of Saint Peter while escaping from the Mamertine prison. Its history spans centuries and changes, even passing through its confiscation during the French domination up to the present day. Dedicated to Nereus and Achilleus in the 6th century, rebuilt in 814 by Pope Leo III to house the relics of the two martyrs, after a long period of decay the church took on its current appearance thanks to interventions linked to two jubilee years.

On the occasion of the Jubilee of 1475, Sixtus IV della Rovere had the church rebuilt with a three-nave structure, which was then profoundly renovated on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1600, thanks to the funding of Cardinal Cesare Baronio. The current façade, executed with the graffito technique, dates back to this last intervention and was created by the Lucca painter Girolamo Massei with the aim of representing the typical Renaissance score with superimposed orders with a string course and lateral volutes. Inside, in the upper niches, the figures of the titular saints were represented, Nereus on the left and Achilleus on the right. In the niche below the main window, Saint Domitilla was probably represented. Finally, the tympanum houses the representation of the Madonna della Vallicella, identified iconographically by the half moon and the rays of light in the shape of a tongue of fire. The graffito technique came into vogue around the mid-sixteenth century and was used for palaces and not sacred places. The façade of the church of Saints Nereo and Achilleo is therefore unique, even if the choice of graffito was probably due to the limited time available and the limited financial resources that did not allow for the creation of a travertine façade.

It is a technique that, for decorations, involves the use of a double layer of plaster, the first of which is deeper and generally dark in colour, and the second, thin and light in colour, which is removed in correspondence with the image to be depicted until the underlying plaster emerges by subtraction, thus offering a chiaroscuro contrast to the entire surface.