Basilica of Sts. Cosmas and Damian

1 Via dei Fori Imperiali Roma

Medieval Church built over the Roman Forum & Temple of Romulus

The Forum was Rome’s center of social, commercial, political, and religious life beginning in 753 BC. In the Middle Ages, many of the pagan temples and civic buildings and monuments located here were Christianized. The Church of Sts. Cosmas & Damian dates
back to 527 AD and used to be a wing of Emperor Vespasian’s “Temple of Peace”.

Sts. Cosmas & Damian were brothers from Arabia and skilled doctors in science and medicine who offered their services as charity. Among the many features the place possesses, the ornate church contains a 12th Century Marian icon and frescoes showing the lives & martyrdom of the two brothers.

At the former vestibule, one can also see the ruins of the Temple of Romulus, built by Maxentius, the last emperor to reside in Rome.