Wender·Vista
Basilica of Saint Sabina
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
on the Aventine Hill, above the Tiber in Rome

Basilica of Saint Sabina

— — the church the Romans almost forgot.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Aventine keeps its quiet. Up the hill from the Circus Maximus, past the orange garden, the brick face of Santa Sabina opens onto a fifth-century nave that has been holding the same light since 432. Twenty-four matched Corinthian columns, a wooden door carved with one of the earliest images of the Crucifixion, and the small keyhole at the priory across the way that frames the dome of Saint Peter's like a held breath.

from the studio
Basilica of Saint Sabina
— bring it home

Basilica of Saint Sabina, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Basilica of Saint Sabina

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Basilica of Santa Sabina all'Aventino stands on the Aventine Hill in Rome, the lowest of the city's seven hills along the Tiber. It was built between 422 and 432 under Pope Celestine I, funded by Peter of Illyria, a priest from Dalmatia. The church has been the mother church of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, since Pope Honorius III gave it to Saint Dominic in 1219. It is the station church for Ash Wednesday in the Roman liturgical calendar, and the papal Ash Wednesday procession still ends here.

— the stone

The interior survives as one of the cleanest examples of early Christian basilica architecture in Rome. Twenty-four fluted Corinthian columns of Proconnesian marble, salvaged from a nearby Roman temple, line the nave in a matched arcade about 30 metres long. Selective sixteenth-century alterations were stripped back by Antonio Muñoz between 1914 and 1919, returning the church close to its fifth-century plan. The carved cypress-wood doors at the entrance date to roughly 430 and include one of the earliest surviving depictions of the Crucifixion of Christ in Christian art.

— the visit

The basilica sits at Piazza Pietro d'Illiria 1 on the Aventine, a fifteen-minute walk uphill from the Circo Massimo metro station on Line B. Entry is free, with hours generally from 08:15 to 12:30 and 15:30 to 18:00 daily, shortened during Mass. The adjoining Dominican priory is private. A few steps away, the Knights of Malta keyhole at the Villa del Priorato di Malta frames a long perspective through a hedge tunnel that ends on the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica across the city.

— where
Italy · Rome, Lazio
— position
41.8843° N · 12.4794° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Giardino degli Aranci
garden
at the lake
Knights of Malta Keyhole
viewpoint
1 km N
Circus Maximus
Roman site
1 km SW
Testaccio
neighbourhood
N
Basilica of Saint Sabina
Giardino degli Aranci
Knights of Malta Keyhole
Circus Maximus
Testaccio
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Basilica of Saint Sabina — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The basilica was built between 422 and 432, under Pope Celestine I, financed by Peter of Illyria, a priest from Dalmatia. The carved cypress doors date to roughly the same decade.

Pope Honorius III gave Santa Sabina to Saint Dominic and his Order of Preachers in 1219. It has served as the mother church of the Dominicans ever since, with the priory still active.

The cypress-wood doors at the main entrance date to about 430 and carry eighteen surviving carved panels. One panel shows the Crucifixion of Christ and is among the earliest known depictions of the scene in Christian art.

Yes. Santa Sabina is the station church for Ash Wednesday. The papal procession traditionally moves from Sant'Anselmo on the Aventine and ends at Santa Sabina, where the Pope celebrates the Ash Wednesday Mass.

The closest Rome Metro stop is Circo Massimo on Line B, about a fifteen-minute uphill walk. The neighbourhood is residential and quiet, set apart from the busier centro storico across the Tiber.

— about the piece in your home

Santa Sabina is the mother church of the Dominican Order and a long-held station church of Rome. The piece has been a meaningful gift for clergy, oblates, and parishioners. A Medium or Large carries the weight.

Yes. Santa Sabina is one of the cleanest surviving fifth-century basilicas in the city, less crowded than the major patriarchal basilicas. The piece suits anyone drawn to early church history or to the quieter Aventine.

The warm brick and Corinthian-marble palette holds well in Old-World Traditional rooms, in Italianate-modern interiors with travertine and oak, and in study or library settings with leather and dark wood.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads cleanly. For a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural extends the nave. A 9-tile Mural anchors a feature wall and lets the architecture breathe at scale.

Yes. The Medium and Large suit a private chapel or a parish library. The Coaster and Keepsake sizes work well as ordination, jubilee, or pilgrimage gifts, and ship cleanly in small batches.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia or bleach cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface itself and will not fade with normal handling or daily light.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in-house under Reid Wender's eye, in a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We don't license artwork in or out.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada