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3 unusual facts about Saints Martin and Sebastian of the Swiss


Saints Martin and Sebastian of the Swiss

Until the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, the German-speaking Swiss Guards gathered in the church of Santa Maria della Pietà in Campo Santo Teutonico, where there was a side altar reserved for them.

Pope Pius V ordered the construction of a chapel strictly reserved for the Guards behind the bastion of Nicholas V. The construction of the building dates back to 1568 under the direction of architect Nanni di Baccio Bigio.

Saint Sebastian was appointed as a captain of the Praetorian Guard of Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian and was martyred.



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