The Catholic Pilgrim's Guide to Tre Fontane, Italy

On the ancient Via Laurentina, three miles south of the Aurelian Walls, a grove of eucalyptus trees marks the spot where Roman soldiers led Paul of Tarsus to his death in AD 67. According to tradition, when the executioner's sword severed the Apostle's head, it bounced three times against the earth, and from each place where it touched the ground a fountain sprang forth—one hot, one warm, one cold. The springs, known since pre-Christian times as the Aquae Salviae, became a site of veneration within living memory of the martyrdom. Today the Abbazia delle Tre Fontane shelters three ancient churches, a Trappist community, and a twentieth-century Marian shrine within its eucalyptus-scented grounds. The monks who transformed this malarial wasteland into a place of healing now raise the lambs whose wool is woven into the pallium—the vestment of metropolitan archbishops, blessed by the Pope each year on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a fitting connection: the Apostle who once wrote to the Romans now clothes their shepherds.

📜 History & Spiritual Significance

The earliest written account of Paul's martyrdom at this site appears in the sixth century, though the springs themselves were venerated long before Christianity reached Rome. The locality lay near the third milestone from the city on the ancient Via Laurentina, a desolate place of marshes and malaria that would trouble the community for centuries. In 625, Pope Honorius I founded a monastery here and entrusted it to Benedictine monks from Cilicia—the same region of Asia Minor where Paul was born in Tarsus. The connection was not accidental. Eastern monks, fleeing the Monothelite persecutions in the seventh century, found refuge at Tre Fontane, and the abbey became richly endowed. Charlemagne bestowed upon it the Isola del Giglio and eleven other towns with considerable territory. In the tenth century, Cluny took possession. Then in 1140, Pope Innocent II withdrew the abbey and entrusted it to Bernard of Clairvaux, who sent a community of Cistercians under the leadership of Bernard Paganelli. Five years later, this first abbot became Pope Eugene III—the only Cistercian to wear the papal tiara. Pope Honorius III personally consecrated the restored abbey church in 1221, with seven cardinals consecrating its seven altars on the same day. The legend of Bernard's vision at Tre Fontane gave one of the three churches its name. While celebrating a Requiem Mass in the presence of Pope Innocent II, Bernard saw angels escorting souls from Purgatory up a ladder to heaven—the Scala Coeli, the stairway of heaven. The indulgence attached to Masses celebrated in this church became so popular that by the 1520s, bequests for Masses "at Scala Coeli" were common throughout Europe. Henry VII of England even obtained the privilege for his new chapel in Westminster Abbey. By the nineteenth century, the monastery had been suppressed and the surroundings had become dangerously malarial. In 1867, Pius IX entrusted the abbey to the Cistercians of the Strict Observance—the Trappists—from La Grande Trappe in France. The monks drained the swamps and planted 125,000 eucalyptus trees, transforming a place of death into one of healing. Since 1873, they have produced eucalyptus oils and liqueurs; since 2015, they have brewed Italy's only Trappist beer, flavored with leaves from those same trees. In 1947, across the road from the abbey, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bruno Cornacchiola, a Protestant who had planned to assassinate Pope Pius XII. His conversion was immediate and complete. The grotto of the apparition is now a popular shrine, and John Paul II named it "Holy Mary of the Third Millennium at the Three Fountains."

☩ Pilgrimage Sites in Tre Fontane

The abbey complex contains three historic churches and a modern Marian shrine, all within walking distance of each other along a peaceful eucalyptus-lined lane. Pilgrims typically begin at the archway entrance on Via Acque Salvie and proceed through the grounds to each sanctuary.

San Paolo alle Tre Fontane

Local Name: Chiesa di San Paolo al Martirio Address: Via Acque Salvie, 1, 00142 Roma RM, Italy GPS Coordinates: 41.8358000, 12.4746000 Google Maps: View on Google Maps Website: https://www.abbaziatrefontane.it Dedication: St. Paul the Apostle Historical Note: The present church was rebuilt in 1599 by Giacomo della Porta under the patronage of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, though a fifth-century structure stood here before. The architect Nicolas Cordier created the polychrome statues of Saints Peter and Paul on the rooftop between 1600 and 1612, blending colored marbles and bronze in the early Baroque style. Spiritual Importance: This is the holiest spot in the complex—the traditional site of Paul's beheading. Three monumental covers mark the fountains that sprang from the earth. A column inside the church is venerated as the one to which Paul was bound, though this tradition appears later. The original Crucifixion canvas by Guido Reni now hangs in the Vatican; a copy remains. Bartolomeo Passerotti's Decapitation of St. Paul adorns a side chapel, and the polychrome floor mosaic depicting the four seasons was brought from Ostia. The fountains were sealed in 1950 when pollution made the water unsafe to drink, but the springs themselves continue to flow beneath the stone.

Santa Maria Scala Coeli

Local Name: Chiesa di Santa Maria Scala Coeli Address: Via Acque Salvie, 1, 00142 Roma RM, Italy GPS Coordinates: 41.8361000, 12.4738000 Google Maps: View on Google Maps Website: https://www.abbaziatrefontane.it Dedication: Blessed Virgin Mary Historical Note: The original church commemorated St. Zeno and 10,203 Christian legionaries martyred under Diocletian while building his baths. Giacomo della Porta rebuilt the octagonal structure in 1582-84 under Cardinal Alessandro Farnese's patronage, with Cardinal Aldobrandini completing the interior decoration in 1589. Spiritual Importance: In 1138, St. Bernard of Clairvaux celebrated Mass for the Dead here in the presence of Pope Innocent II and saw angels leading souls from Purgatory to heaven by a ladder—the Scala Coeli. The altarpiece by Desiderio De Angelis depicts this vision. The apse mosaic, designed by Giovanni De' Vecchi and executed by Francesco Zucchi in 1578, shows the Madonna and Child with Saints Bernard, Robert of Molesmes, Vincent, and Anastasius. The crypt beneath the church is traditionally identified as the place where Paul was imprisoned before his execution.

Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio alle Tre Fontane

Local Name: Chiesa Abbaziale dei Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio Address: Via Acque Salvie, 1, 00142 Roma RM, Italy GPS Coordinates: 41.8363000, 12.4735000 Google Maps: View on Google Maps Website: https://www.abbaziatrefontane.it Dedication: St. Vincent of Saragossa, St. Anastasius the Persian Historical Note: Pope Honorius I founded this church in 626 for the Benedictines. Pope Honorius III consecrated the present Romanesque-Gothic structure in 1221, with its distinctive brick façade, double-sloping roofline, and portico with Ionic columns. The abbey church preserves medieval frescoes—the earliest known figural decoration in any Cistercian context. Spiritual Importance: This is the abbey church where the Trappist monks gather for the Divine Office. The relics of St. Anastasius, a Persian soldier martyred in 628, arrived in the seventh century. Those of St. Vincent of Saragossa, the Spanish deacon martyred under Diocletian, came in the fourteenth century. The abbey holds the distinction of producing the wool for the pallia of new metropolitan archbishops: lambs are blessed by the Pope on the feast of St. Agnes (January 21), their wool woven and blessed, and the pallia presented on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

Santuario della Vergine della Rivelazione

Local Name: Grotta delle Tre Fontane Address: Via Acque Salvie, 1, 00142 Roma RM, Italy GPS Coordinates: 41.8355000, 12.4752000 Google Maps: View on Google Maps Dedication: Virgin of Revelation On April 12, 1947—the Saturday after Easter—Bruno Cornacchiola, a Protestant who harbored violent hatred for the Catholic Church, brought his three children to Tre Fontane for a picnic. He was preparing a speech ridiculing the Immaculate Conception. In a grotto, he and his children encountered the Virgin Mary, who identified herself as "the one who is of the Divine Trinity" and "the Virgin of Revelation." She said: "You persecute me. Enough of it now! Enter the true fold, God's kingdom on earth." Cornacchiola's conversion was immediate. He later presented to Pope Pius XII the dagger he had intended to use for assassination, carved with the words "Death to the Pope." The Pope blessed a statue of the Virgin of Revelation in St. Peter's Square on October 5, 1947, and it was carried in procession to the grotto. The Franciscan Conventual Friars took custody of the shrine in 1956. John Paul II named it "Holy Mary of the Third Millennium at the Three Fountains" in 1997. While the apparition has received informal approval and a formal investigation continues, the grotto remains a place of documented conversions and reported healings.

🕯️ Annual Feast Days & Celebrations

June 29 – Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul San Paolo alle Tre Fontane. The principal feast of the abbey commemorates the traditional date of Paul's martyrdom. The Pope bestows the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops using wool from the abbey's lambs at St. Peter's Basilica. April 12 – Anniversary of the Apparition Santuario della Vergine della Rivelazione. Thousands gather at the grotto to commemorate the Virgin of Revelation's appearance to Bruno Cornacchiola, with solemn processions and special Masses.

🚗 Getting There

By Metro: Take Line B to Laurentina station (the southern terminus), then walk approximately 1 km southeast along Via Laurentina to Via Acque Salvie. By Bus: Bus 671 runs from Laurentina Metro station to the Laurentina/Tre Fontane stop near the abbey entrance. By Car: From central Rome, follow Via Cristoforo Colombo south toward EUR, then take Via Laurentina. The abbey entrance is at Via Acque Salvie, 1. Free parking is available near the entrance. From Fiumicino Airport: Approximately 30 km via the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA) ring road. Exit at Via Laurentina and head north toward EUR.

🔗 Useful Links

Abbazia Tre Fontane (Official) – Official abbey website with visitor information, shop, and monastic products. Turismo Roma – Abbazia delle Tre Fontane – City of Rome tourism information. Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance – Tre Fontane – Official OCSO monastery listing. International Trappist Association – Tre Fontane Beer – Authentic Trappist Product certification.

🧭 Nearby Pilgrimage Destinations

Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls (4 km): The Apostle's burial place and one of Rome's four major basilicas, built over his tomb by Constantine. EUR District (2 km): Mussolini's rationalist architectural complex, now home to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and parkland. Catacombs of Domitilla (3 km): Rome's largest catacomb, where early Christians gathered in secret. Central Rome (8 km): The Vatican, Colosseum, and other pilgrimage sites are accessible by Metro Line B.

🪶 Closing Reflection

"From Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ."

— Romans 15:19, New Revised Standard Version