103.

Chiesa di S. Agnese fuori delle mura

The 7th century church of S. Agnese was built over a catacomb which housed the remains of that saint. It turns its back on Via Nomentana (4), which Vasi misleadingly depicts at the left edge of the print as if it were at the same level as the church floor, when in fact it is some 6 meters higher. The church is two kilometers (one and a quarter miles) from the Porta Pia, Plate 4, in the Aurelian walls, and therefore does not appear on the Nolli map but does appear on the accompanying satellite image. S. Agnese is flanked on the left by the house of the curate (3) and on the right by the monastery (2) which has a long stair leading into the side of the church. While the ruins in the foreground may qualify as "ruine antiche" (5) the arch directly above, to which Vasi also gives the number 5, looks more like a dilapidated Renaissance gateway. On the far right is S. Costanza (1) which was originally built as the mausoleum of the emperor Constantine's two daughters in the mid-4th century and then converted into a church in the 13th century. The building survives almost intact to this day.