The church of Santa Cecilia is located about a 5 minutes walk from Hotel San Francesco and it definitely worths a visit
As per the legend, the house is built on Cecil’s family house “a distinguished virgin, born from a noble roman lineage”, suffering her torment around 22 AD.
Santa Cecilia - Stefano Maderno
The Golden Legend claims Pope Urbanus I, having converted her husband, Valeriano, witness of her martyrdom, “undertook Cecilia’s body admist bishops’ and hallowed her house turning it to a church, as by her request”
The Titulus Caeciliae is indeed already witnessed from V century. At the beginning of IX century Pope Pasqualis I, great relics’ recoverer and churches builder (Santa Maria in Domnica, Santa Prassede), had a Vision of Cecilia in dream, revealing her burial, He requested to build the basilica on the previous one and transferred her body.
In 1599 during the renovation works by cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, the marble tomb was opened and inside of the coffin, they found the body almost intact with white clothes and the signs of the wounds on the neck.
The event was considered so miraculous that the pope went to note it personally.
He commissioned the sculptor Stefano Maderno playback of the figure as it had been found. The exceptional work in marble which bears witness to the event is currently on display under the main altar
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