ABSTRACT
Translations of Paschal I: Transforming City and Cult’, in A. Hopkins and M. Wyke (eds), Roman Bodies (London, 2005), 123-41.
Fig. 2.1 Rome, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere and Santa Prassede. Plans of the basilicas erected by Pope Paschal I (plans: author) (scale, 1:500)
In both churches, the bodies were crowned by ciboria and the presbyteries were surrounded by porphyry and rosso antico marble. The shrines included mosaic and pressed metal images of the saints, and at Santa Prassede, the transept was lined with paintings of hagiographic narratives. Thus, with the aid of the saint herself, Paschal deployed the virtus of the saints and the glory of architecture in deft combination to impress upon Rome and the world his authority.
