S. BIAGIO DELLA PAGNOTTA
Earlier
than the tenth century and maybe built on an ancient temple dedicated to
Neptune
Restored in
1072 for Alexander II (1061/73)
Rebuilt 1730 by Giovanni Antonio
Perfetti (?/1754)
Dedicated
to the saint from Sabaste, modern Sivas in Turkey. In the fourth century AD it
was part of Armenia
According
to tradition, St. Blaise was martyred in 316 AD, although this date contrasts
with the Edict of Constantine (306/337) which had proclaimed freedom of worship
in 313. Perhaps he was the victim of local persecutions carried out at the
behest of Licinius (306/324), who was co-emperor first and rival of Constantine
later
Before
being beheaded he was tortured with iron combs used for carding wool
He is the
protector of diseases of the throat for one of his miracles: he saved a child
who was choking on a fish bone
Armenian
national church
from the sixteenth century when Armenian priests, every 3 February, feast day
of the saint, used to distribute here small loaves of blessed bread
Renovated
in 1832 by Filippo Navone (active first half of
the nineteenth century) who raised the floor and built a semicircular apse as
well as the arch on the two Ionic columns
CEILING
rebuilt in 1933
Reliquary
with throat fragment of St. Blaise
RIGHT ALTAR
“St.
Gregory baptizes Tiridates III, the first Christian king of Armenia” by an anonymous of the nineteenth-century moved here in 1832
from the church of S. Mary of Egypt built in the Temple of Portunus
Armenia was
the first nation to adopt Christianity and declare it as state religion in 301
MAIN ALTAR
“Miracle of
St. Blaise who saves the child choking on a fish bone” by an eighteenth-century anonymous artist
On the
right “St. Blaise child” and on the left “St. Blaise supported by an angel” by
an anonymous artist of the nineteenth-century
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