The Church of San Damiano at Carsulae

The Roman town of Carsulae was definitively abandoned by the resident population around the end of the 4th century and was not subsequently occupied by new settlements. The subsequent frequentation of the site is linked to Christianity, as evidenced by the church of San Damiano probably built in the sixth century from the transformation of a Roman building. Of the pre-existing construction, attributable to the 2nd century AD, part of the wall structures were reused, of which the construction technique in opus vittatum with brick bands and arches is clearly evident on the right side. The church, whose entrance faces a stretch of the original Via Flaminia, has a lot of bare material recovered on site and reused in the pronaos, for the construction of the portico -formed by Roman columns and architrave-, the door jambs and also inside . The current appearance of this place of worship is the result of the 11th century renovation which extended the building and added the semicircular apse. The Saints Cosmas and Damian to whom the primitive Christian church was dedicated are represented with very essential features, together with Christian symbols including a Greek cross, in the bas-relief of the lunette above the portal. In this dedication it seems that there is a reference to the two saving deities Castor and Pollux (or Dioscuri) to whom the Gemini temples that arise in the area of ​​the Forum were probably dedicated. The interior is divided into two naves by salvaged columns and has fragments of frescoes with figures of saints, some of which are not identifiable, while the one that decorates the apse portrays the titular saints. Other Roman elements are the rock of a column reused as a holy water stoup and the travertine blocks that form the seat placed along the entrance wall and on the corner of the back wall. The marble slabs leaning against the walls of the aisles belonged to public buildings and to the basilica of the Forum.