Sant Agnese in Agone

Designed by Bernini's rival Borromini. this is a 17th-century church with frescoes, large-scale sculptures & a shrine containing St Agnes' skull. It is notable for its mosaics, shrine of the virgin martyr St. Agnes, and catacombs. It is also another church with a remarkable story of a mix of history and myth, fact and fiction.

Saint Agnes was a member of Roman nobility born in 291 and raised in a Christian family. She suffered martyrdom at age 13 during the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Diocletian, on January 21, 304. Saint Agnes is the patron saint of young girls.

According to tradition, the prefect Sempronius wished her to marry his son, and on her refusal condemned her to death. Roman law did not permit the execution of virgins, so he ordered her to be raped beforehand, but her honor was miraculously preserved.

St. Agnes was led out to be burned at the stake, but the bundle of wood would not burn. The officer in charge of the troops drew his sword and struck off her head.

The current basilica, as rebuilt by Honorius in the mid-7th century, stands over an early Christian catacomb. In the 4th century, the soft rock was hollowed out around Saint Agnes's tomb to create a gathering space, probably for her family to observe the anniversary of her death. The visits of her family and friends spread early to others in Rome, and the site became a place of pilgrimage.

The church of Saint Agnes was then built next to the mausoleum in the 7th century. The floor level of the 7th-century church is at the level of the catacomb floor, and the public street entrances are at the level of the second floor gallery.

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