Santo Stefano Rotondo

Santo Stefano Rotondo Review

This 5th-century church was inspired perhaps by the design of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Its unusual round plan and timbered ceiling set it apart from most other Roman churches. The vast barnlike space has walls aplenty, and most of them are covered with frescoes that lovingly depict the most gory martyrdoms of Catholic saints. You've been warned: these are not for the fainthearted, cataloging, above the names of different emperors, every type of violent death conceivable.