Overview
At the intersection of the Via Ardeatina and the Appian Way, the Church of Domine Quo Vadis is a jewel of Roman religious architecture.
Its unusual name derives from a specific episode in the life of St. Peter. In a context of violent persecution of the early Christians in the Neronian era, the resigned Apostle Peter was leaving Rome and heading south. All of a sudden, along the Appian Way, Jesus appeared to him walking in the opposite direction. Pietro was excited and asked him "Domine, quo vadis?" (which in Latin means "Lord, where are you going?"), Christ replied that he was going to Rome to be crucified a second time. The saint was thus convinced to retrace his steps, aware of the sacrifice that awaited him in the city.
Inside the Church of Domine Quo Vadis, a stone shows the shape of Christ's feet when he appeared in this vision to the apostle: it is a replica, because the original of this legendary relic is instead preserved in the nearby Basilica of St Sebastian Outside the Walls.
