Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine: cypress door, opening hours and visit

Updated on October 5, 2026

The Basilica of Santa Sabina (Santa Sabina all'Aventino), on Piazza Pietro d'Illiria, is one of the oldest churches in Rome to have kept its original plan. Founded around 425 by the Dalmatian priest Peter of Illyria, it has a bright nave lined with twenty-four fluted columns and a cypress-wood door carved with biblical scenes dating from the 5th century. It has belonged to the Dominican Order since 1219. Entry is free: it is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8am to 7pm, and Sunday and Monday from noon to 7pm. Allow 30 to 45 minutes, including the neighbouring Orange Garden.

Highlights

An early Christian church

Built between about 422 and 432 on an older titulus (place of worship) linked to a Roman matron named Sabina, it was heavily altered in 1587 by Domenico Fontana, then restored in the early 20th century to recover its medieval appearance. From outside, the brick apse and tall windows still recall the 5th-century basilica.

The entrance portico

You enter through a portico with ancient columns. The nave, very bright thanks to its high windows, is strikingly plain; a band of gold mosaic on the inside of the façade recalls the names of Peter of Illyria and Pope Celestine I.

The cypress door

The great cypress-wood door, contemporary with the building of the church, has kept many of its carved panels illustrating the Old and New Testaments. It includes one of the oldest depictions of the Crucifixion. You can examine it up close in the portico without a ticket.

The devil's stone

According to legend, the devil threw a block of black basalt at Saint Dominic as he prayed; it missed him but cracked a nearby slab. A small column marks the spot where he prayed at night.

A Dominican convent

In 1219 Pope Honorius III gave the church to Saint Dominic, who settled there. The convent is closed to visitors, but tradition says the first orange tree in Italy was planted in its garden, hence the name of the nearby Orange Garden.

Hours and access

Free entry, no booking. Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 7pm; Sunday, Monday and religious holidays noon to 7pm. Access is not allowed during services (Mass at 8am and 11am on Sunday, vespers at 7:15pm). The underground excavations are not open to visitors.

Practical info

Tips

Modest dress (shoulders and knees covered) is expected, as in any church. Avoid service times, especially on Sunday morning. To continue, leave the church and walk along Via di Santa Sabina to the Orange Garden, then to the keyhole on Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta. Hours taken from the basilica's official website in October 2026.

How to get there

Piazza Pietro d'Illiria 1, 00153 Rome. Metro line B, Circo Massimo station, then about 15 minutes' walk uphill via Clivo di Rocca Savella. The church adjoins the Orange Garden.