Overview
The Basilica of Santa Aurea, cathedral of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia, stands on the site where, according to tradition, Saint Aurea, martyred in the 3rd century, and Saint Monica (the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo), who died in Ostia in 387, were buried. The church originated as an early Christian basilica probably in the 4th century, when Ostia was already an episcopal see, and later became the centre of the early medieval town, which was redesigned in the 15th century with new walls and an imposing castle. The works included the rebuilding of the Basilica of Santa Aurea, at the behest of the French bishop Guillaume d'Estouteville (Cardinal of Ostia until 1483) and then of his successor Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II. The architect Baccio Pontelli redesigned it a classical style, harmonising it in appearance and orientation with the nearby castle. The single-nave interior is decorated with 17th-century paintings and preserves a 5th-century paschal candle that belonged to the original basilica. The chapel of St. Monica, decorated with the Ecstasy of St. Monica by Pietro da Cortona, features an ancient tombstone that commemorates the laying of the saint's body to rest here.
