Rome - San Giorgio in Velabro
The name Velabro refers to the marshy area on the banks of the Tiber where according to Roman legend Faustulus found the twins Romulus and Remus. The first church on the site was built by Leo II (682-683), the second by Gregory IV (827-844); the campanile and porch were added in the 12th century. The present church, a handsome Romanesque building incorporating ancient elements (columns and capitals), stands near the Arch of Janus (see Arco di Giano). It is a popular wedding church. In 1993 the church was partly destroyed in a bomb attack by the "Falange Armata".
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Arch of the Moneychangers
Adjoining the church is the Arco degli Argentari (Arch of the Moneychangers), erected in honor of Septimus Severus, his wife Julia Domna and their sons Caracalla and Geta, by merchants and bankers of the Forum Boarium and later incorporated in the church of San Giorgio. It has reliefs, some of them remarkably well preserved, depicting the Imperial family attending a sacrifice and barbarian prisoners. Some of the names in the original dedication were later erased.
