Via Appia Antica 51, Rome, Italy
Church of Domine Quo Vadis (Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis)
A small roadside church on the Via Appia where tradition says Peter, fleeing Rome, met the risen Christ and asked 'Lord, where are you going?'
The story is one of the most striking in Catholic tradition. Peter was leaving Rome, slipping away to escape Nero's persecution, when he met Christ walking toward the city. "Domine, quo vadis?" Peter asked — Lord, where are you going? Christ replied that he was going to Rome to be crucified again. Peter understood, turned around, went back, and was martyred. The account comes from the apocryphal Acts of Peter, and by the ninth century a church stood on this spot to mark it. The current building is small and simple — a single nave from the seventeenth century, easy to miss from the road. Inside, a stone slab set into the floor is said to bear the footprints of Christ, though the original is in the Basilica of San Sebastiano nearby. The church takes about five minutes to see and most visitors come for the story more than the art. But the story is enough. It sits on the Appian Way at the point where the road leaves the city walls, exactly the kind of place where a man running away would have passed.
Diocese: Diocese of Rome
Style: Baroque
What to See
The church is one room. The footprint stone is in the center of the floor, under glass, and it is the reason people come. A painting above the altar depicts the encounter between Peter and Christ. The walls have a few other paintings and memorial plaques but there is not much else. The value of the place is in the story and the location. Step outside and look down the Appian Way toward the countryside — that is the direction Peter was heading. Then turn around and look back toward the city walls and the dome of St. Peter's in the distance. That is the direction he chose to go instead.
Pilgrim Notes
The church is on the Via Appia Antica, just outside the Porta San Sebastiano gate in the Aurelian Walls. It is a short walk from the gate or from the bus 118 stop. The church is open during the day but hours are informal — if the door is locked, try again in an hour. There is no admission fee and no guided tour needed. This is best visited as part of a walk along the Appian Way that includes the catacombs of San Callisto and San Sebastiano, both within a kilometer or two south. The whole walk takes a morning and is one of the best half-days in Rome for a pilgrim.