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Santa Balbina
Saint Balbina (in English) Sancta Balbina (in Latin)
The façade of Santa Balbina.
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
41°52′50″N 12°29′23″E / 41.880521°N 12.489662°E / 41.880521; 12.489662
Location	Rome
Country	Italy
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Titular church
Dedication	Balbina of Rome
Architecture
Architectural type	Church
Groundbreaking	4th Century
Administration
District	Lazio
Province	Rome
Clergy
Cardinal protector	vacant

Santa Balbina is a Roman Catholic basilica church in a quiet area on the side of the Aventine Hill, in Rome. It is next to the Baths of Caracalla.

This had been the site of the large home of Lucius Fabius Cilo, a wealthy Roman of the late second century. It had been a gift to him from Septimius Severus, and is marked on the Forma Urbis Romae. Christian ownership resulted in substantial renovation in around 370: walls were heightened and the internal layout was modified along the lines of today's church. The original title of this church is uncertain. It has been suggested it was known as titulus Tigridae, referring perhaps to an early sponsor or founder. It has been handed down that when the Emperor Constantine departed to found the city that became Constantinople, he bade farewell to Pope Sylvester I at this church.

In the eighth century, the basilica was consecrated by Pope Gregory III to the entirely mythical St Balbina, whose legend has her dying around 130 CE.

The building underwent many revisions, including under Pope Paul II in 1464, and under Cardinal Pompeo Arrigoni in 1600. Initially affiliated with the Augustinians, the church came into the charge of secular priests of Naples during Pope Innocent XII's time.

The adjoining monastery has a commanding medieval defence tower. Inside the basilica there is a very fine episcopal chair with Cosmatesque decoration from the 13th century. The church was heavily restored in the 1930s. An ancient sarcophagus was discovered during the restoration. It is now used as a font. Frescoes were discovered on the side walls from the 9th to 14th centuries. The Baroque frescoes in the apse and the triumphal arch were painted by Anastasio Fontebuoni in 1599. The triumphal arch is decorated with the figures of Sts Paul and Peter. In the apse the mythical St Balbina is depicted between martyrs.

Previous titulars include Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar and Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros.

It was at this church in 1875 that the Franciscan priest Simpliciano of the Nativity founded the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

In 1270 the first known Hungarian cardinal, Stephen Báncsa was buried in the basilica. Another 13th-century Hungarian clergyman, Pál, Bishop of Paphos, erected an altar in the church for Saint Nicolas. Both the altar and the grave disappeared during later centuries, but a plaque commemorates the offerings of Pál. Until 2023, the cardinal priest of this church was Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of Hungary. He suggested the Hungarian links to the church played a part in the pope's decision to assign him Santa Balbina. Erdő recommended Hungarian pilgrims visit the basilica. The cardinal said he feels a special responsibility for the building. Because the church's physical state had deteriorated, Archbishop Erdő was appointed cardinal priest of Santa Maria Nuova in March 2023.

• 
  Interior
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  Santa Balbina in Rome: Coat of arms of Pope Innocent VIII (1473-1474) in the portico
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  Bishop's Chair adorned in mosaic by the Cosmati - 13th century
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  Crucifixion relief done for the tomb of Pope Paul II by Mino da Fiesole
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  Fortified tower of the Santa Balbina Convent
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  Opus listatum in the walls of the convent now called Santa Dorotea
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  Santa Balbina Exterior
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  Santa Balbina, near the Baths of Caracalla
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  The way to Santa Balbina

• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1913). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus 1 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.
• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1914). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus 2 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.
• Eubel, Conradus (ed.); Gulik, Guilelmus (1923). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus 3 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
• Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus IV (1592-1667). Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1952). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi (in Latin). Vol. Tomus V (1667-1730). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1958). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi. Vol. Tomus VI (1730-1799). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1968). Hierarchia Catholica medii et recentioris aevi (in Latin). Vol. VII (1800–1846). Monasterii: Libreria Regensburgiana.
• Remigius Ritzler; Pirminus Sefrin (1978). Hierarchia catholica Medii et recentioris aevi (in Latin). Vol. VIII (1846–1903). Il Messaggero di S. Antonio.
• Hüls, Rudolf (1977). Kardinäle, Klerus und Kirchen Roms: 1049–1130 (in German). Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom. ISBN 978-3-484-80071-7 - Buy this book.

• Nyborg, Chris, "Santa Balbina".
• Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088 - Buy this book.

Media related to Santa Balbina at Wikimedia Commons

Authority control databases
National	Germany
Geographic	Pleiades
Other	Kulturenvanteri monument